Lose My Mind
by littlej23
Summary: Haley James is your average 17 year old girl. Or at least, that's what she thinks. She's been through more trauma than she can remember, literally. Will she ever be a normal girl, or will the hidden truth prevent her living her life?
1. Chapter 1

**Lose My Mind - **Haley James is an average seventeen year old girl. Or at least, that's what she thinks. Everyone knows differently, except her. She's been through more than enough trauma to last her a life time, but the only thing is, she doesn't remember. She remembers nothing from that dreadful day, and her friends know differently. Will she ever be able to be a normal seventeen year old, or will the truth get in the way?

**Disclaimer - **I do not own One Tree Hill, or anything to do with it, sadly. All creative rights belong to Mark Schwann. Nor do I own the lyrics to 'Lose My Mind'. All the lyrics used from the song belong to The WANTED, Nina Woodford, Rami Yacoub, and Carl Falk. I also don't own The WANTED. If I did, well, let's not go into what I'd do.

**A/N:** Hi guys! I'm back! :-) I've been writing this for months now, I was writing it during the time I was still writing Opposites Attract. I was listening to The Wanted as you do, well, as I do because I'm um, obsessed. Anyway, I was just listening to them and the song came on and I was like GREAT IDEA. Plus someone on tumblr had written a fic for this song, but with The Wanted as characters instead. We have similar plotlines, but other than that, everything is my own. To those of you who read Opposites Attract, I don't actually remember whether I told you about this one yet, but if I did, I'm sorry for the wait! If not, then thanks for checking it out! This isn't going to be a long fic like Opposites Attract, it's just something to fill the void while I write my next two longer ones, which I'm still unsure which I'll post first. Just depends what I get most of. This is only going to be around 8-10 chapters maximum, and I'm writing Chapter 5 as I write this so yeah. I really hope you enjoy this, and here goes!

PLEASE tell me what you think, your opinions mean everything to me!

**One more thing - **All my chapters are betaed by othfan1919, so keep an eye on her profile since she just finished Hold You In My Arms, and see what she has planned next! Check her out :-) Also, check out ObsessivePrincess and her fic 'The Future's Not Ours To See' the third fic in the Que Sera Sera series! AND one more - Passions Torment by :-)

Here goes nothing!

Lose My Mind

_They say that time heals everything,_

_But they don't know you_

_And the scars you bring._

_Cause you left a jagged hole,_

_And I can't stand it anymore._

**Chapter 1**

Haley James was an average 17 year old girl. She had long honey-blonde hair, which flowed well past her shoulders in slight curls. She had a small body type, and wasn't exactly the tallest of people. She attended Tree Hill High and was now in her senior year, where she hoped to graduate as valedictorian as that is what she had worked for since she joined high school.

During their junior year, her best friend, Brooke Davis (captain of the cheerleaders), had convinced her to join the team. Originally it had only started out as Haley filling in for a cheerleader who had fallen ill the day before competition, but after her performance, Brooke had asked her to join the squad. It had taken some convincing, but she accepted, and she now enjoyed cheerleading, more than she ever thought she would.

Haley had a great group of friends. They were a really mixed bunch of people, not the type of people that people would expect her to hang out with. But she wouldn't change her friends for the world. Her best friends were both cheerleaders: Brooke Davis, the eccentric and bubbly captain, and Peyton Sawyer, the artistic and music loving cheerleader, who was the complete opposite to what you might think a cheerleader would be.

Brooke and Peyton were good friends too her, and she loved that she had girl friends to turn too, she was forever grateful for them for being such good friends. But that didn't change the fact that her best friend would always be a boy around the same age as her, Lucas Scott. Haley had known him since she was in diapers, and he had always been a good guy and great friend to her. Lucas was like a brother to her, they were always very close.

Unfortunately for Haley, being friends with Lucas meant being friends with his arrogant ass of a brother. Nathan Scott was known for his reputation, he was captain of the basketball team. He'd dated Peyton during freshmen year, but they'd broken up as Nathan was an arrogant ass. They'd put aside their differences and actually managed to become friends. The group of friends did everything together, and apart from Nathan, who gave a careless attitude towards Haley, they got on great.

Nathan and Haley hated each other. They could not agree on anything. They argued with each other, they fought, they traded insults, everything. They didn't get on well, and when they weren't trading insults they ignored each other's presence.

Within their group of friends, nobody had a normal family. They didn't have their parents around to guide them, so they'd all moved into a house together during junior year. They each had a bedroom to themselves, and all paid rent on the house every month.

Despite the numerous bedrooms, there were bathrooms to share between two people. Nathan and Haley were forced to share every morning, and neither one of them appreciated that fact.

"Watch where you're going!" Haley exclaimed.

"Well excuse me, but it's not my fault you're too short to see." He retorted, shoving past her into the kitchen.

"You two could at least try to get along." Lucas intervened. He knew as well as anybody else that the pair would never get along. Ever since they moved in, Nathan had picked fights with Haley.

"Haley!" Nathan yelled from the living room.

"What?" She replied.

"What have you done with my phone?"

"Me! Why would I have touched your phone? I've got my own!"

"Whatever." He sighed with a roll of his eyes as he walked out of the room.

"Don't worry about Nathan." Lucas spoke up once he had left the room.

"I try not to, but I don't know what I did to make him hate me so much." She sighed in reply.

"I know for sure he doesn't hate you, Haley."

"He's got a funny way of showing it."

"He's just being Nathan, don't worry about him."

"Well maybe he should be less Nathan, and be nicer." She huffed.

"Come on, forget about it. We're all going out tonight, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. We can have fun; I'll just avoid Nathan all night." She laughed.

"Now that's the spirit!" he laughed with her as they both left the room, heading their separate ways.

Lucas knocked on the door of Nathan's bedroom, entering before he got a reply. He sat down on the end of his younger brother's bed and looked up at him.

"What is it you want, Luke?"

"I know it's hard on you, but could you at least be a little nicer to Haley? You're really upsetting her."

"Upsetting her! What about me, Luke? This hurts me just as much as it's hurting her. Probably more."

"I know bro, and I'm sorry. But you know what the doctor said."

"I know." He sighed. "She's not going to remember, I know, Lucas. Don't you think I know that? These past few years have been hell for me."

"I'm sorry, Nathan. But there really is nothing we can do. She won't remember. I'm sorry." He replied with a sympathetic sigh.

"Hey tutor girl!" Brooke exclaimed as she walked into her best friend's room. "Mind if I get ready in here?"

"Nah, course not. You know you don't have to ask, B." Haley laughed as her best friend took her spot at the mirror.

"Just checking. Anyway, what's bothering you?" She asked as they applied their mascara.

"What do you mean?"

"Hales, I can read you look a book. I know something's up. What is it?"

"It's nothing."

"Spit it out, Haley."

"It's nothing, really. I'm fine."

"Hales."

"Alright, fine. Nathan's bugging me. Things are so much worse between us lately. He hates me. He blames me for everything. I just don't understand what I've done to make him hate me so much."

"Why don't you just ask him?" She asked.

"Like he's going to tell me." The blonde laughed.

"You never know, maybe he'll surprise you. But believe me, Hales, Nathan doesn't hate you."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that." the younger of the two girls sighed, as she put down the minimal make-up she was applying to her face and walked over to her wardrobe.

She picked out a spaghetti strapped white dress for herself, which stopped around mid-thigh, with a silk white bow wrapped around the top of the dress, just underneath her chest. She chose a simple pair of white heels to match the dress, as she picked up the essentials for her night out and placed them in her small bag. She styled her hair simply by straightening it out and letting it flow past her shoulders, before she walked downstairs with Brooke to the taxis waiting outside.

Haley had been dancing with her friends for nearly an hour, before she decided that she needed to sit down. She ordered herself a vodka and coke (she didn't normally drink, but it was the Friday after finals and they all needed to let loose) from the bar before a deep voice appeared from behind her and requested the same from the barman. He paid for both of the drinks, which shocked her slightly.

"You didn't have to do that." She spoke to the man beside her.

"Don't mention it." He replied.

"Nathan, please don't do this to me. Can we talk?" She sighed, as she stood up and walked outside with Nathan following behind her.

"What?" He questioned as they stood outside of the club.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to make you hate me? I'm trying to understand here, Nathan, but I can't understand if you don't tell me why."

He let out a sigh as she questioned his attitude towards her, knowing that he wasn't able to tell her the real reason why. He regretted ever agreeing to talk to her. He couldn't tell her the real reason, but what was he going to tell her instead? This girl had him like putty in her hand.

"Um, hello, Nathan?" She asked, waving a hand in front of his face. He opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. He sighed in defeat before Haley responded. "Do you know what? Forget it. You're obviously not going to tell me, so either you don't have a reason or you're hiding something from me. Or maybe it's a mix of both, but either way, right now, I don't really care. I'm going back inside to find my friends; this was a waste of time." And with that, he watched her as she walked back into the club, leaving him alone outside in the warm summer weather; leaving him and his broken heart alone once more.

**Thoughts? Leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hi guys! I'm so happy y'all are enjoying this already, thank you so much for all the positive feedback and reviews, you have no idea how much they mean to me! All I want when I write is to get the opinions of the readers. I just finished writing Chapter 5 about ten minutes ago, so hence the early update. Plus Zara wanted me to. :D

**Review Replies**

**Ashley: **You're not supposed to guess the plot line! -_- Dammit, hahaha. Well keep singing Lose My Mind because it's an amazing song! Thanks for the review, love you too sis! :-) xxx

**Zara: **Thanks! I'm excited to see how you guys react to their developing relationship, hehe. :-) x

**kaya17tj: **Thank you for your review! I'm glad you like these type of stories, it's a new kind of story type for me to write. Is it really poor Haley, though? ;) haha, make up your own mind on that one. :-) x

**Godschildtweety: **Good, glad you like it! x

**Stop Dreaming: **Good, that's what I wanted for people! I want the intrigued readers to be intrigued :P You never know, your ideas could be bang on. :-) x

**X-Mrs-Scott-X: **Why thank you! Hope you enjoy this one :-) x

**Also thanks to: **ObsessivePrincess, FrankiR, Godschildtweety, 23LaffertysGurl23, CoachMom, can'tgetenoughof23, X-Mrs-Scott-X, oliviaajee101, BlondestEvr, sbcmmbjgjlhb5, Ladyschumi, for all your story alerts/favourites, you're all awesome!

**Enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 2**

"Scott! Other people need to use the shower you know!"

It was 7:30am on a Friday morning, and the five seniors were getting themselves ready for their day at school. Finals were over, and towards the end of senior year, barley anyone went to school anyway. But it was the last few days of high school, and they all felt they should spend the last few days of their high school lives at school instead of bunking.

Haley and Nathan shared a bathroom, as their rooms were the closest to each other, (unfortunately for them), and they often argued over how long the other would spend in there. Usually, Haley was the early bird and managed to get in the bathroom and shower before Nathan was even awake, but today he'd decided to break the routine. He knew it would annoy her, and that was partly the reason he had done it.

"Would you stop banging on the door? I'm out!" He shouted through the door, throwing up his arms in defeat as he opened the door before checking his appearance in the mirror.

"Why do you spend so much time in front of the mirror? You're never going to look good." She replied, pushing him out of the way.

"At least I'll look better than you, sweetheart!" He retorted, as she slammed the door in his face.

They had taken hatred to a new level since their argument last Friday night, and now argued with each other more than ever. It was horrible for their friends to see them like that, knowing that it wasn't always like that. There was a time when they all used to get along, and were closer than ever. They all thought that they would be friends forever. Obviously, something had changed along the way.

They couldn't blame anyone for their tight bond as a group disbanding; it was purely a cruel twist of fate. Cruel for the damage it had caused; the friendships it destroyed and most of all the heart it broke. But they had all vowed not to mention it to her. They couldn't have her living with painful memories like that.

Unfortunately, that meant more for Nathan than it did for the rest of them. His heart was shattered, he'd nearly lost the only girl he'd ever truly cared about. She was still alive, and that's the nearly part. But having her not remember anything made it seem as if he had already lost her. He knew he could never get her back, and every day it would break his heart a little more.

He'd never let on that he was hurting, though. That's why he pretended to hate her; he thought it would be easier than if he was still hung up over her (which he was, despite the efforts of hating her).

Haley sighed as she got into the shower, not understanding why Nathan had to be so off with her. Everyone knew something that she didn't, and it annoyed her. She just wanted to be in the loop like everyone else, but apparently that was asking too much. Why did they all keep saying that Nathan didn't hate her? It was quite obvious to a monkey that he didn't like her. Maybe hate was a strong word, but for the attitude he gave her and the way he treated her, maybe hate was just the appropriate word.

It was Haley's free period, in which she chose to spend her time in the tutor centre, tutoring younger students whilst filling in college application forms. She wanted to attend Stanford University in California; that was her dream school. She didn't know if she wanted to attend college across the country away from everything she knew, though. But then she figured college is about reinventing yourself and breaking away from what you know.

She sighed as she filled out the application form for Stanford; she hoped she could write the required essay to see whether she was Stanford material during this period, whilst tutoring a freshman in algebra. She'd left the young boy to do some problems by himself whilst she filled out the application, after explaining how to solve them. She only looked up from her applications when she noticed Brooke standing in the doorway.

"Brooke Davis in the tutor centre, wow, I must be seeing things." Haley laughed, as she got up and walked to the doorway, leaving her tutee to solve his problems.

"Funny, tutor girl. Anyway, I only came to tell you that we're going out tonight." Brooke said; it was more a demand than a question.

"We are?" The blonde questioned.

"Yes, we are. And you can't say no. We're going to Tric, Peyton's organised another all ages night after the last one was a success. So dress nicely, else I'll have to dress you myself. Have fun with the rest of your tutoring session, tutor girl." Brooke explained, before walking off down the hall, before bumping into Nathan. "Hi boy toy."

"Brooke." He said, giving her a look. "You know I hate it when you call me that. Anyway, have you seen Haley?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, she's in the tutor centre. I told her about Tric tonight, so play nice. You're going too, and you better dress nice. Make sure you tell Broody that, too." Brooke replied, as she walked down the hall. "See you tonight, boy toy."

Nathan registered Haley's location once Brooke mentioned it, but never really took notice of anything else she said. Brooke had a way of babbling about things, and it was something everyone had gotten used to. Most of the time they tried to block it out; most of the time it worked; until Brooke got mad at them for not listening to her.

He continued his walk down the hall as he reached the tutor centre, and took a deep breath before he walked in, seeing her sitting with a young freshman, going over his work. She looked to be deeply concentrated, and so did the boy, so he figured he'd give them a minute before he spoke up. Apparently she'd already registered his presence.

"I'm busy, Nathan. Can it wait?"

"Sure. I'll just wait here for you." He sighed.

"Good job, Ethan. You've come a long way since I first started tutoring you. Keep up the good work over summer and you'll have no problems as a sophomore." She spoke to the young boy sitting beside her with a smile. Nathan watched as the young boys face lit up, he was obviously very proud of himself.

"Thank you, Haley. I wouldn't have passed without you." He beamed, throwing his arms around her. She was taken aback by the gesture but gladly returned it with a smile. "Good luck for graduation on Monday. And good luck in college. I'll miss you tutoring me, you're a great tutor."

"Thanks, Ethan. Now go, get to class before you're late." She laughed as the boy walked out of the centre. "So what exactly is it that you wanted, Nathan?" She asked as she packed up her things.

"Look, about last week, at the club." He started.

"Oh, that. Look, drop it, okay? I obviously don't mean anything to you, so let's just leave it at that." She replied with a sigh.

"No, Haley, listen." He pleaded.

"Alright, I'm listening."

"I don't know if you were too drunk to remember…"

"I think you're forgetting who was drunk last week. I was fine. But anyway, carry on." She pushed, as she closed her laptop lid and placed it in her bag.

"I wanted to apologise." He stated.

"Oh yeah? So why didn't you? You had every opportunity too."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He sighed, reaching out for her hand, which she pulled away. "I don't hate you, Haley. It's just…it's complicated. But I don't hate you."

"Then why are you so mean to me?"

"I told you, it's complicated. Look, can we just be civilised? I don't hate you, and I know you don't hate me really. Can we try and be friends? For everyone else's sake?"

She sighed in response to his question and reluctantly agreed, before adding that she couldn't promise anything. She pulled her bag over her shoulder before walking out of the tutor centre and towards her next class.

The evening soon came, and as promised, the other four seniors were attending Peyton's all ages night at Tric.

Brooke had taken no prisoners when it came to making sure Haley dressed for the occasion. She knew the tutor was reluctant to leave the house; she didn't want to face the prospect of spending another night with her sworn enemy, especially after the last one was such a disaster for them both.

Haley wasn't one for going out, she never had been. She'd much prefer to stay indoors watching a movie on the couch than get all dressed up and go to some random party to get drunk. She knew her friends loved that kind of lifestyle, but she didn't like it at all. Sure, she'd attend a party or two when she felt like getting out, but it wasn't something she'd usually do by choice. It was one of the many things that were different among the group of friends.

Brooke had stormed into Haley's bedroom at least three hours before they needed to leave, demanding that they get ready together. Haley had laughed off the suggestion, before realising Brooke was actually serious.

"Brooke, why on earth would we need to get ready_ three hours _before we leave?" She asks her best friend, a confused look etched upon her face.

"It's called looking good. Haley, come on!" She whines in reply, tugging at her best friends arm and pouting. "You have to let me do your hair and make-up."

"Brooke." Haley sighs, having experienced one of Brooke's makeovers before.

"Oh come on, it will be fun. Trust me, you'll look hot." She pleaded.

"Fine, but do _not _go overboard, okay?"

"Duh, I already knew that much." Brooke laughs, as she pulls her best friend up and drags her into her bedroom.

"You never answered my question." She states as she flops herself onto Brooke's bed.

"What question?"

"Why are we getting ready three hours early?" She questions once more, still unsure as to why she's going through with this.

"Because, it's all part of looking good. It takes a lot of effort to look this good." Brooke replies. "Now come and sit on this chair, I need to do your hair." She orders.

Three hours later, Brooke had finally finished her task of helping Haley to look 'hot'. She'd styled her hair, done her make-up and picked out her outfit, and was now waiting for Haley to come out of the bathroom, where she'd gone about ten minutes ago to get dressed. She wasn't sure whether her still being in there ten minutes later meant she hated what she was wearing and how she looked or the complete opposite. When she emerged about a minute later, it was obvious it was the latter.

"So, what do you think?" Haley asked as she stood in front of her best friend.

"I told you you'd look hot. You're doing it without looking slutty, too."

"Thanks. I think." She laughed in reply.

"You're welcome." She replied, pulling her best friend into a hug. The honey blonde returned the hug, before heading downstairs to greet the rest of their friends.

Haley was dressed in a light pink baby doll dress, with jewelled black straps. The dress ended a few inches above her knees, short enough to show off her legs but long enough to keep from dressing slutty. The chiffon layering added a delicate twist, with ruched detailing at the bust. The dress perfectly matched Haley's personality, soft, sweet and elegant at the same time.

"Hales, you look amazing." Lucas comments, smiling at her as she stands before them.

"Thanks. It's all down to Brooke, though." She replies, heading to the door. "Nathan." She simply states as she reaches the door and looks up at him.

"Haley." He replies, not intending to start an argument with her tonight. When she looked that hot, he couldn't think of anything but one specific night. Those days were always on his mind, but that outfit brought back specific memories for him. It was the night he told her something that would change both of their lives. The night he told her loved her.

**Tell me what you think! (also if you want the link to Haley's outfit in this chapter, it's on my polyvore jodiesykes23)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hi guys! So I don't actually have a lot to say because I'm only updating because I am going out of my head being bored! Half term is killing me! Plus I went dress shopping today, and while I usually love retail therapy, and trying on pretty dresses, it did not go well -_- I won't bore you with details but basically, me being a 15 year old girl, I like...well...let's say..._different _dress styles to my mum, and we just ended up not getting anything, ugh. Also, if anyone watches Gossip Girl, you need to like, pm me or something or tweet me or message me on tumblr (links on my profile) because I'm hooked and I just..ahfbfbuwbfw.

Shameless plug here, if you have a tumblr, **_please _**follow treehillheroes, it's a fan tumblr I made for Joy, Sophia and Shantel, and I would _love _for you guys to get involved. Even if you don't have tumblr, get involved. It's basically an online fanbook for them. :-) It would mean so much to me if you guys could get involved :-) Send me messages, videos, audios, pictures, collages, just whatever you want, and I'll put it on there. Details are all on my tumblr :-)

**Review replies (christ there's a lot of these)**

**Ashley - **You should be sorry. Only your reading your spoiling. But there's more that you don't know yet so...yeah. Oops, forgot about that. Culture difference. Can't have Brooke without her being Brooke! Love to you too! Xx

**Zara - **Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this :-) x

**23LaffertysGurl23 - **I'm glad you're excited, I'm excited, too! I haven't actually thought about that to be honest, you can imagine they are if you like but I haven't really specified lol. :-) x

**X-Mrs-Scott-X - **Thank you so much! There's more to come, promise. ;) x

**Godschildtweety - **You'll find out...eventually...mwahaha :-) x

**kaya17tj - **Ooh you've got an opinion, good, I like it! Your question shall be answered in a later chapter, but for now, keep guessing, hehe :-) x

**hey-torch - **I always get so excited when you review my stories, because you're just...well, amazing and I'm just little me haha. I'm so glad you like this, eek! Your questions will be answered as the story progresses, except that last one, which is just my bad. They have parents but I just chose not to write about them because...well...I don't even have a reason lol it just made it easier to have them all in one house, so yeah :-) Thanks! x

**hebewe - **I'm glad you love these stories because that's what this is, lol. You'll see why, and I'm glad that you think what you think :P x

**Charlotte2809 - **Thank you! :-) x

**Aleah - **Thank you :-) x

**also - **_paigematthewsfan21, hey-torch, hebewe, charlotte2809, AleeshaaaRose10, nkhh923 - _thank you all for story alerting and/or favourting! :-)

**Chapter 3**

As the four friends arrived at Tric, Brooke and Haley immediately went in search of Peyton. They knew she would be around the back somewhere, most likely dealing with diva artists and their demands before they went on stage, but she had texted Brooke earlier saying to come find her when they got to the club.

"Brooke! Haley!" The two girls turned around to see Peyton in a strapless mini black dress, cut off a few inches above her knees. They walked towards their friend and embraced her as they reached her. "You two look nice. You're looking extra hot tonight, Hales." She sends her friend a cheeky wink and bumps her hip as they all laugh.

"Thank you. It's all down to Brooke, though. She wouldn't let me leave her grasp for nearly three hours." She laughed, remembering the three hours of torture her best friend had put her through. As much as she may complain, she just used it was an excuse. Deep down, she knew she really enjoyed Brooke making her get all dressed up, even if it was just because Nathan was smiling at her more.

She couldn't stand it when they fought, especially over petty little things that meant nothing. She didn't know why he had such an aversion to her; she hadn't done anything to him. For all she knew, he'd been a jackass his whole life and he took it out on her. She wished that he wouldn't, he got on with the other three seniors he lived with, so why not her? She actually wanted to give him a chance, she wanted to be friends, but he wouldn't allow that.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a young man, who looked to be around her age, approaching the trio of girls. He was carrying a guitar in his hand, so she guessed he was playing tonight. He was a few inches taller than her, with a small frame, not very muscular. He had blond-ish brown hair, gelled on the top of his head.

"Hey there, pretty lady." He spoke to her, before looking over at Brooke. "And you too, gorgeous." Both the girls laughed off his weak attempt at flirting with them. "Peyton." He nodded to the other girl.

"Chris, hey. These are my best friends, Brooke and Haley." She pointed to each of them in turn. "Haley, Brooke, this is Chris Keller. He's playing here tonight."

"Hi, Chris." Haley smiled softly, shaking the hand he put out to her. "I'm Haley."

"Brooke Davis. I'm sure you won't forget me, I'm not a forgettable person." Brooke stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse us, P. Sawyer and I have some things to do." And with that, she grabbed her best friend's hand, and led her away from the pair.

"I'm so sorry about Brooke." Haley laughed. "She's my best friend, but as you can probably tell we're complete opposites."

"You can definitely tell that. So tell me, Haley, what's the 411 on this town?" He asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Um, well this is Tric, Peyton and our friend Lucas' mom run it; they usually have a few all ages nights every month. Lucas' mom also runs a café, Karen's, and she makes the best food in town, I'm telling you." She smiled.

"Awesome. Tell me about yourself, Haley. You seem like a very interesting girl." He requested, offering her his hand and leading her to a table once she accepted it.

"Um, well, there's not much to tell, really. I'm not that interesting. I'm Haley James, I'm eighteen years old and I'm graduating from Tree Hill High School on Monday. I hope to attend Stanford University, California once I'm out of high school; I've wanted to go there forever. I come from a huge family, I have three brothers, Aiden, Joshua and Matt, and three sisters, Vivian, the oldest, Taylor, who's second oldest, Quinn, who's second youngest but third oldest and then there's me, the baby of the family. I hope for a big family one day, but maybe not as big as that. For the past two years I've been on the cheerleading squad, with Brooke, she's captain. And I actually kind of like it." She explained, with a smile. "What about you, Chris Keller? You're very mysterious I must say." She giggled as she looked up at him.

"There isn't much to tell, Chris Keller is Chris Keller, and I'm a rock star. Going on tour with The Wreckers over summer, and I'm in the studio at every chance I get. I'm eighteen, just graduated from Oak Lake last week. I haven't thought much about college, I don't intend on attending. Chris Keller's going to be a rock star, rock stars don't go to college." He explained.

"Oh, right. Well it was nice talking to you, Chris. But shouldn't you be getting ready to go on stage? It's getting pretty crowded out here." She suggested.

"Nah, not just yet. Besides, Chris Keller likes your company."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Across the room, Nathan was standing by the bar watching Chris and Haley. He knew that she liked him, and it was obvious he was very into her. But whether it was the same type of attraction, he wasn't so sure. He just couldn't bear to see Haley with another guy. He didn't know much about Chris, and in fairness to him, he was sure he was a pretty great guy, but he just wasn't the right one for Haley. All he felt inside of him was a deep pang of jealousy; fear that she'd be anything more than friends with this guy, and most of all, his broken heart.

"Nate, quit staring at her. I know it's hard for you but you've got to let it go." Lucas says as he stands beside his brother at the bar. "You know what the doctors said."

"Yes, Lucas, I know what the doctors said. I remember those words every fucking day of my life. Don't you think I remember that day? I went from having the best time of my life, to the worst. I've never felt so bad before, Lucas. And seeing her with other guys, I can't deal with it." He explained to his brother. "She's supposed to be mine." His voice cracked as he expressed the realisation out loud.

He wasn't exaggerating when he said it was the worst time of his life, he'd never hurt so much before. Seeing Haley with Chris only broke his heart even more, and he wasn't sure how much he could take. He couldn't tell her, but he couldn't keep this to himself much longer, he'd kept it a secret for long enough.

He had to do _something_.

Later that night, after Chris had finished his set, he headed straight for Haley. The pair had definitely hit it off, and they seemed to be very friendly with each other. They'd exchanged numbers earlier on, after Chris came off stage and the two sat at a table talking for a while. Eventually they parted ways and knew that they were off to the start of a great friendship.

"So, tutor girl, spill the beans. What's the deal with you and singer boy?" Brooke pressed as soon as they got home. The three girls were sat in Haley's room, after Brooke and Peyton had questioned her on the way home and she'd refused to tell them anything. They figured she didn't want Lucas or Nathan hearing her gossip and it was a girly thing, so they waited until they got in to start the questioning again.

"There is no 'deal' between us, B." Haley laughed. "At least not yet, anyway." She added with a wink and a giggle.

"So there will be in the future?" Peyton asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't know." She laughed at her friend's expression. "We only just met. He's a nice guy, and I like him. But he doesn't want to go to college and he's on tour with The Wreckers. I don't even know if I'll see him again. We've swapped numbers and that, and I kind of want too, but I don't know if it'll go anywhere. I need to focus on my school work first and foremost."

"I knew we called you tutor girl for a reason. You've got to at least go on a date with him!" Brooke exclaimed. "Have a little fun before college. You've still got summer."

"True. But we'll just have to see how it goes. I don't want to rush into things. I like him, and I want this, whatever this is, to work. For both of us." She explained.

"Did he ask you out though?" Brooke questioned.

"Well…"

"He did, didn't he!" She exclaimed.

"No!"

"Don't lie, Haley. We all know he totally did. Details, now!" Peyton interjected.

"Ugh, okay, fine. He's taking me to that restaurant by the docks tomorrow. He's picking me up at eight." She smiled.

"You have to let me choose your outfit!" Brooke screeched.

"B, it's okay. We don't have the same sense of fashion, you know that. I'll just pick something out."

"There's your first problem, you're not willing to branch out! Come on Haley, it'll be fun! You know how hot you looked tonight, I can do toned down! Please?" She begged.

"We'll see."

Nathan couldn't stand to hear the girls gossiping about Haley's date with the jack ass she'd met earlier. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop on them, but he couldn't help it. Chris had been making eyes at Haley all night; she was just too innocent to understand it. But she agreed to go on a date with him, and that killed him inside. He knew it was going to happen eventually, but he hoped he could convince her he didn't hate her by then. Apparently his mission had failed. He was devastated that she still thought that, and he couldn't convince her otherwise. He had to find some way to put a stop to this date.

He couldn't let her go on a date with Chris. He couldn't let her go on a date with any guy, but especially not Chris. If he couldn't tell her the truth, he had to find some way to convince her he didn't hate her. He was Nathan Scott, and he wasn't about to let the love of his life get away.

**So...reviews?**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I am SO sorry I haven't updated, but between school and the amount of homework and revision and _extra _homework _I suggested _I do, and rehearsals for WWRY, I just haven't had time. But thank you so much for your response to this fic, it's been amazing so far and hopefully you'll continue to like and review this! I gotta say, this chapter = big. Well, no. Well, yes, actually...oh I don't know, decide for yourself. But there's a big event at the end of this chapter that may or may not interest you(a) **

**Just one personal question, last year, I took my GCSE Sociology (sorry if you're not British and have no idea what I'm on about, just help me out) exam a year early. It was a trial run to see if year 9s (that's 8th grade in America) could cope with exam pressure. So I took it, and I did pretty well. I got a B, 77%. I needed 80% for an A, so you see how close it was. This year it's my second year, and I'm not sure whether I should retake the exam or not. I'm desperate for an A in this subject, and I _know _I can do it, but I'd need at least a high A (85% at the minimum) in my second year exam to get it. The way our country's examinations work now is that you only get one resit. And they don't necessarily take your highest grade any more, either. I've got a lot to lose. So my question, is it worth the gamble to take it again and then have to revise for my second year exam a week later? Or do I stick with the grade I've got? **

**Review replies:**

**Godschildtweety: **Thank you :-) x

**hey-torch: **Well hopefully this chapter will intrigue you more than any chapter so far...mwahahahaha. ;) Thank you so much! X

**23LaffertysGurl23: **You'll find out soon enough...by that I mean preeeeetty soon. And it may not happen in the way you'd think. ;) mwahaha, enjoy! X

**can'tgetenoughof23: **I really want to answer your questions, but I can't! The fic will do that for you in the coming chapters. :-) Thanks for the review, though! X

**TessyMeeniac: **I feel bad for writing him like this, lol :( But all will be revealed, promise! X

**Ashley: **IF ANYONE IS STILL READING THIS THEN GO READ ASHLEY'S (obsessiveprincess) FICS BECAUSE THEY'RE AMAZING AND YOU JUST NEED TO READ THEM K? There you go. :D I wouldn't have done it if I didn't _have _to! He should, but he can't! WAIT! X

**shelleylovenaley: **I know how it seems but honestly, the next few chapters will explain everything! X

**hebewe: **You'll find out soon...I promise. :P All your questions will be answered! X

**AleshaaaRose10: **Then you'll love this one even more...;) x

**naley12: **Good glad you like it! X

**Enjoy :-) OH and also, just gotta say, I may have borrowed a name from a certain duo of girls...I totally don't own her, or them, I wish I did, though. If you don't know what I'm on about, just read on...**

**Chapter 4**

Saturday came, and Brooke had taken Haley on a shopping spree in preparation for her date with Chris that evening. She'd insisted that whatever Haley was planning on wearing wasn't nearly suitable enough for a date. She may have had to drag her out of bed and near enough forced her into her car, and drag her around the mall with her, but when Haley realised Brooke was going to be sensible about what she was going to pick out, she'd stopped resisting as much.

Eventually the pair had agreed on a long pale pink top, a pair of dark skinny jeans and a pair of pink ballet pumps to match. Brooke was insistent Haley ventured out to a pair of heels, but Haley insisted she didn't want them. She wanted to make an effort for her date, but she didn't want to go overboard and look desperate. After all, she was going out with a rock star; he's hardly interested in the shoes she wore.

She wanted to make tonight special. She really liked Chris; he seemed like a great guy. They had a lot in common, too; their love of music, for example. They were both very much avid music lovers and listeners, except Chris was taking that love to the next step and making his own music. Haley loved music, but she was far too shy to ever go as far as Chris has. She'd take one look at her audience and probably have an anxiety attack.

She wasn't very good with crowds of people. She'd tried it once, and it hadn't turned out that well. She wouldn't do that to herself, not again. Tonight was about having fun with Chris.

* * *

><p>As promised, he picked her up right on time. She'd hugged Brooke and Peyton on her way out as they wished her luck, checked her appearance in the mirror one final time before walking to the car and her date.<p>

"Hi, Chris." Haley smiled as she got into the car.

"Hey. You're looking fine tonight." He stated as he smiled and started to drive towards the restaurant.

"Thank you." She blushed at his compliment. "I'm not underdressed am I?" She checked, seeing his dress shirt and jeans.

"Nah, not at all." He replied. "Like I said, you look great."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the house, Nathan was sulking (well, he tried to convince everyone he wasn't sulking) in the living room watching a game on ESPN. He had no idea who was playing who, or what the score was, but he needed something to take his mind off of the small blonde girl occupying his thoughts. He couldn't stand Chris, and he'd only met the guy briefly at a club. But as much as he hated him, he had to admit that he was insanely jealous of him. He would give anything to be in his position. He had been once, and he wished that he didn't take it for granted.<p>

He thought back to their earlier argument, the one they'd had as she was getting ready, and how it had turned to a huge argument so quickly. He hadn't wanted it too, but he didn't blame her for it. He just wished that she would have given him the chance to explain himself, but she didn't. She hadn't wanted to hear anything he had to say; she thought there was no reason to justify what she found, but what little she knew. There was a perfectly good explanation; she just hadn't given him the chance to say it.

_Earlier that day_

_Nathan was in his room as per usual when he heard the door shut downstairs. He presumed Brooke and Haley were back, since they weren't around this morning. He knew Haley had her date with Chris tonight, and he presumed Brooke had taken her on a shopping spree to get something to wear. It was no secret that Brooke didn't approve of Haley's wardrobe. He left his room as he heard them coming up the stairs, and smiled at them._

_ "Hi, boy toy." Brooke smiled brightly._

_ "Hey, Brooke." He replied as she walked into her room, before looking to Haley. "Haley." His smile instantly widened and he couldn't help himself._

_ "Nathan. What are you smiling about?" She asked, noticing his smile grow._

_ "Nothing. You just look really pretty today. Not that you don't normally but…yeah. I'm…gonna stop talking. Hope you had fun on your shopping trip." He rambled. He never normally got so flustered and nervous in front of girls, but Haley wasn't just a girl. She was _the _girl. _

_ "Thanks…I guess. Did you want something?" she asked._

_ "Do I have to want something to talk to you?" He replied._

_ "Well you usually do."_

_ "Well this time I don't. I was just trying to be nice."_

_ "Well don't. It's creepy, and we all know you don't like me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Brooke." She says as she brushes past him and walks into Brooke's room._

_He went back into his room, and went back to playing NBA live. After a while of playing, and winning, he was bored with the game, and decided to be a bit more social. He turned off the console and went downstairs to talk with his brother. When he returned, he found Haley snooping through his things. The last thing he expected to see was her in his room, let alone going through his things. He'd made it clear to everyone that she was to stay out of there, and had managed to keep her out so far. This time, he'd failed._

_ "Haley, what are you doing in here?" He asked, trying to make out he was more angry than anything._

_ "I was looking for my iPod; I thought you'd have it." She replied calmly._

_ "Me? Why would I have your – " _

_ "But then I found this." She cut him off, and picked up a photo frame. This wasn't going to go down well. The only photo's he put in frames were the ones of him and – _

_ "Haley, it's not what you think, okay? I'm not like that." He tried to explain to her, but she wasn't having any of it._

_ "It's not what I think it is? So tell me, Nathan, what is this, because if I'm not mistaken, this looks like a picture of us, and funnily enough, I don't remember taking it. And I don't ever remember letting you kiss me either! What the hell is going on!" She exclaimed, looking up at him._

_"Give me that!" Nathan said reaching up and grabbing the frame from her, worried that she would break it while she was waving it in the air. "Haley, you don't understand!"_

_ "You're damn right I don't! So make me understand, tell me what this is! What did you do, just Photoshop a picture of us making out! What the hell is wrong with you!" She shouted, her anger increasing._

_ "I can't…Haley; I wish I could tell you. I want to explain but I can't." He sighed in defeat, knowing he wouldn't be able to tell her._

_ "Do you know what? Forget it. Whatever you're doing with this, just stop. I can't deal with this…I have a date to prepare for." She sighed, as she walked out the door. And as she did, Nathan swore he could feel his heat break even more than the first time she'd broken it._

* * *

><p>As Chris pulled up at the restaurant, he looked over to his date to notice she seemed a little distracted. He wanted to question it, but he didn't want to pry into her life before their date had even started, so he figured he'd just alert her of their arrival and then take it from there.<p>

"Haley." He said as he looked over to her.

"Huh? Sorry, completely spaced out." She replied.

"It's fine." He replied. "Chris Keller just wanted to let you know we're here. You seem a little distracted."

"Yeah, sorry about that, it's nothing. Let's just…go inside." She half smiled, as she stepped out the car and waited for Chris to do the same.

As he walked around to her side of the car, he offered her his arm. "Shall we?" He asked as she linked her arm through his. He guided her to the entrance of the restaurant, and gave his name to the waitress who directed them to their seats. It wasn't too much of a posh place; it was a quiet little place on the docks, the perfect location for a first date. The waitress placed the menus in front of the pair, before speaking.

"My names Caitlin, and if you need anything, just shout." She said, almost seductively. She sounded like she was definitely flirting with Chris, and it kind of put Haley on edge. "Can I get you two a drink?" She asked.

"Um, I'll just take a coke." Haley requested as the waitress wrote it down.

"And you?" Caitlin asked as she looked over at Chris.

"Surprise me." He winked, as Caitlin gave a seductive smile and walked away.

Haley knew she was never one of the popular girls, never one of the blonde, peppy cheerleaders that ruled the social hierarchy of high school, but she was happy with herself. She was jealous of the other girls and their looks, sure, but she didn't want to _be _them, or like them. She just wanted to be Haley, and she hoped a guy would eventually like her for that. And now that Chris had taken her out on a date, she hoped that he liked her for her. Seeing a leggy blonde like Caitlin flirting with her date gave her little, if not no confidence in herself. And seeing Chris eyeing her up definitely didn't help either.

"Everything here looks good." He stated, looking at the menu.

"Mm." Haley agreed. "I think I'll just order mac and cheese. It's my favourite." She half smiled.

"Aw, come on, that's like, food for five year olds." He scoffed. "I'll just order the chicken, or something."

When Caitlin came back to the table, they ordered their meals respectively and decided to get to know each other a little better whilst waiting for their order.

"So tell me about yourself, Chris." Haley asked.

"Chris Keller is a rock star. Not much to tell other than that. The Keller hooks up with girls on the road, and rarely ever does relationships, so you should feel special. Chris Keller tours with The Wreckers, and music is everything and anything Chris Keller needs. What about you?" He questioned.

"Um, my life is a lot different to yours." She laughed slightly. "I graduate from Tree Hill High on Monday, valedictorian." She smiled in pride.

"Oh a smart chick, Chris Keller likes them smart." He interrupted.

"Okay…" She looked down quickly. "I live with my three best friends, and one of my best friends' arrogant ass of a brother." She ranted. "I'll be attending Stanford in the fall. I got in on scholarship, had to work my ass off for it but it's worth it, Stanford is my dream school. I've wanted to go there since we took my sister there on visit when she applied when I was eight." She smiled at the memory. "I'm not…the most confident person. I was a cheerleader my last two years of high school because Brooke forced me into it. Surprisingly enough I enjoyed it."

"Cool. You seem distracted, are you alright?" He asked, noticing her absent mindedness.

"Um…yeah. Well, not really. I just…let's not talk about it. It's okay, I'm fine."

"Alright." He doesn't question her further as their waitress arrives with their food.

"Alright, here you go." She smiles as she places the food down in front of them.

* * *

><p>Back at the house, Nathan was sitting on his bed, head down, staring at the framed photo Haley found, among the others she hadn't come across. He'd kept them all this time, even after her accident, it hurt him too much to let them go. He needed some sort of reminder that what they had was real. He couldn't let the memory go, he couldn't let the memory of <em>them <em>go. He needed to be reminded that there was once something between them, and that she did once love him, and he loved her back, more than anything.

When he found her in his room earlier, he wanted nothing more than to tell her the truth. He wanted to just scream it from the rooftops, and explain to her the whole story. He couldn't let her think what she did; it just wasn't an option for him. He had to explain the whole story to her. But he couldn't. The doctors said he shouldn't, her parents said he shouldn't, Brooke and Peyton said he shouldn't, and even _Lucas_ said he shouldn't. Lucas was like a possessive older brother to Haley, and wouldn't let Nathan anywhere near her if he thought he was going to tell her something he agreed not to.

He heard a knock on his door as he stroked his thumb over the picture. He ignored whoever was at the door, as he was content with staring at the picture he held in his hands.

"Nate, you can't keep doing this to yourself." He heard the voice of Brooke in his doorway, and he briefly looked up from his picture. "You know what –"

"Yes, Brooke, I know what the doctor said. Don't you think I remember? Does nobody realise how much this is hurting me! When she found this picture earlier," he held up the frame in his hands for exaggeration. "All I wanted to do was tell her everything. I just wanted to tell _the love of my life _that I love her, and that the picture isn't a fake; that she did love me once. And that I loved her too, more than anything in this entire world." He started to raise his voice. "But that's the one thing that I couldn't do. The one thing I want, the _only _thing I want, I can't have. Brooke, she's not just a girl, she's _the girl, _and I would do _anything _for her. I just want her back. And I can't have that. And right now, she's on a date with some fancy pants rock star because I can't tell her the truth! Do you have any idea how I feel?" He questioned her, as he looked up at her.

"No."

"Of course you don't, because your boyfriend didn't spend a month in the hospital, in a coma. Your boyfriend knows who you are, and the significance of you. Your boyfriend knows you're in a relationship! So until you know how I feel, which you never will, don't judge me, Brooke. Don't judge me, don't give me orders, don't…just don't. And you know what, I can't just sit here and wait for the love of my life to come home from her date and tell us all how great it was. I've got to do _something. _I can't just let her date this guy." He actually sounded like he was emotional about this subject, and Brooke knew that he was serious. Who was she to stop him? He was in love, and she couldn't deny that. How could she deny him of love?

He stood up, grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair, and headed out the door.

"Nate! What are you doing? Where are you going?" Lucas called after him, but it was too late, he was already out the front door, and running down the street faster than Lucas had ever seen him run before.

* * *

><p>"So Taylor Momsen just started flirting with me, and I just told her where to go. The Keller doesn't do gothic rock chicks. Chris Keller only hooks up chicks that show signs of rock stardom." He told her with a nod, as she sighed heavily and rested her head on her hand. Chris had been talking about himself for the past half an hour and Haley was starting to get sick of it. She had never heard of half of these people, but she just went along with it. Maybe Chris wasn't the guy she thought he was.<p>

From the distance, she saw a guy running along the street. He looked quite muscular, and as it was summer and didn't get dark until very late, he looked to have black hair, just like Nathan's. As the figure came closer, she realised that it was in fact Nathan. What the hell was he doing here? The last time she saw him, they'd argued over a picture she was sure he had photo shopped as a cruel joke towards her.

Oh what the hell, who even cared what he was doing here? She'd be grateful for anything to get her away from Chris right now. He was boring her with all his stories about rock stars he'd turned down, and how he was basically, god's gift to women. She continued to watch him as he got closer to her, and noticed he started to have some trouble as he approached the entrance. The waiter wouldn't let him in for anything. So then he started to shout for her.

"Haley! Come on, Hales. I need to talk to you!" He shouted across the entrance to her.

"I'll be right back." She stated to Chris, with a half-smile and walked out of the restaurant to meet him. "Nathan, what the hell are you doing here! Are you trying to sabotage my date!"

"No! Well, yes."

"Nathan, what the hell!" She exclaimed, hitting his chest.

"No, Haley, listen to me!" He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"What could you possibly have to say to me, Nathan?"

"Oh forget it, to hell with caution." And with that, he stepped closer to her, bent his head down to meet her height and caressed her cheek with his hand. He was so close; she could feel his breath on her top lip. He stared into her bright brown eyes, parted his lips slightly and moved the final half an inch to press them against hers.

**REVIEWS? **

***PS - I totally don't own Taylor Momsen or The Pretty Reckless, I really wish I did, though.***


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. Please don't hate me. *hides face in shame*. But seriously, I'm sorry. The amount of crap I have to do right now is ridiculous, I'm stressed to the point of tears right now:( I have 3 maths papers due by Thursday and 3 pieces of Sociology hwk I need to do. At the moment, this is how it stands. I literally don't have any time after school any more, I rehearse Mondays&Tuesdays, revision on Wednesdays and dance rehearsals for the show on Thursdays. I work 9-5 on a Friday, and all those things after school are until about 5. If I've done my homework, _then _I get time to write. Sorry for the wait. **

**In other news, I PERFORMED IN FRONT OF 500 PEOPLE TWICE ON THURSDAY. WOO. I was shaking before/after the performances, I felt like I was going to be sick but the adrenaline, I cannot wait till show week! Bring it on! :D**

**I'm kind of on a writers block for this story at the moment, Chapter 7 isn't going very well. So Shay, I'm sowwiiiiii okayyyy:( i wuuvvv youuu:(**

**Review Replies - **

**Godschildtweety - **hehehehe, hopefully you'll like this chapter then. :-)

**ObsessivePrincess - **I think I'm going to stick with my B. :-) Brooke...well...I can't say much about it else I'll spoil it, but believe me, the last thing she wants is for Haley to be with Chris. Well...he didn't..._yet. _MWAHAHAHAHA. Yes, Chris is an ass, but it's necessary for the story to develop for him to be. It shouldn't be but hopefully the next chapter or two will explain everything! I GIVE A FUCK ABOUT TAYLOR MOMSEN OK. She's a gothic princess, YHHHH. I love her, k? But I do agree with what you say XD That was one of my favourite lines to write, hehehehe. There's possibly maybe more of that in this chapter...

**shelleylovesnaley - **I'm glad, too! :D

**hey-torch - **I feel like screaming every time you review my fic, lol. Yepppp, a coma. Hehe. Well that's what I was debating after this chapter, but yeah...for the sake of fiction, nope. I'm glad it made you anxious cos now you'll read this and I'll get to scream when you review again XD Sorry it's taken me so long to update! :(

**TessyMeeniac - **Thanks for the advice, is a-level good? I'm kind of wanting to take it, ha. I hate the system, too, it's such a pain in the ass :( Well hopefully this satisfies you...

**hebewe - **Thanks! Chris is an ass, I know. The perv accusing bit was fun to write, believe me:') Well we'll see how good it is...hehe. Glad you liked the kiss. XD Sorry for the wait!

**alwaysandforever08 - **I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reading and your compliments! :D

**kaya17tj - **Me too!

**AleshaaaRose10 - **I like big cliffhangers, heheheh. Hopefully you'll find out this or next chapter, probably next. I think. :')

**X-Mrs-Scott-X - **Glad you like it!

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

"Nathan, what the hell are you doing!" She nearly shouted, pulling away from the kiss. She had no idea why the hell Nathan had just kissed her, but she wasn't having any of it. He was supposed to hate her. She hated him. Why the hell had he kissed her!

"Haley, you have to listen to me. I don't…I don't hate you." He sighed. "I'm in love with you. I always have been, and I always will be."

"What the hell, Nathan? Why would you _pretend _to hate me?" She questioned in confusion. Why _would _he pretend to hate her? If he loved her, why wouldn't he just tell her? God this was as all so complicated. Chris looked to have left by now, and she was thankful to Nathan if only for the distraction.

"Because I had too. Haley, I can't tell you what happened. I can't even…I'm not supposed to be with you. I can't." He sighed, looking down.

"So why are you here? And why the hell did you just kiss me!" She demanded answers, and she wanted them now. There were so many questions on her mind. Would this complicate things with her decision to go to Stanford? Why on earth did he kiss her? Why can't he be with her? Why is everything so complicated?

"Look, Haley, please. Just…believe me when I say I love you. If it's the only thing you believe for the rest of your life, please believe this. I love you, with all my heart. It's killed me pretending to hate you, but you have to know I did it for _you. _I did it because I love you." He explained, looking her in the eyes. "I want to be with you."

"Well…maybe…" She said quietly, moving closer to him again. "I want to be with you, too…maybe…I just…I don't know, Nathan." She whispered emotionally. "I'm supposed to be going to Stanford in the fall. I'm graduating as valedictorian on Monday, I can't…I don't know. But I did like this." She stood on her tip toes, trying to push herself to his height, and softly placed her lips on his. "And I do kind of want more of it."

"That's something I'll gladly take care of." He smiled, brighter than he had in years, and placed a soft chaste kiss on her lips. She let out a giggle against his lips as he brushed them with hers, and then smiled as he pulled away. "Listen, we need to go back. I need to talk to the others." He sighed.

"No. Not if it means losing you. I can't do it." She wrapped her arms around his middle protectively.

"You won't lose me, I'm right here, I promise." And with that, he placed a kiss on the top of her head and began the short walk back to the house.

* * *

><p>Back at the house, Lucas, Brooke and Peyton were sitting in the living room, discussing Nathan's sudden decision. They all hoped for Haley's sake that he hadn't told her the truth, because god knows Nathan didn't listen to the rules. Out of the three of them, Lucas was probably the most worried. Despite Haley's growing friendship with Brooke and Peyton over the last two years, he had been her best friend for years, and he was like a brother to her. If Haley were to ever find out the truth, he would want to be the one to tell her. He wanted to protect her from those memories; the one's that he was more than glad she had forgotten. He never believed that Nathan was good enough for her, and if she ever found out the truth, she'd go back to him. It wasn't because he was jealous, he was just protective.<p>

"You don't think he told her, do you?" He asked, looking up at the two girls in front of him.

"No, I don't think he would've, just yet. As much as you don't want to think it, Luke, he's in love with her. All he wants is to be with her, and as much as he wants to tell her the truth, he wouldn't, not without consulting you first. He respects you, and her, too much not to." Brooke replied.

"Brooke's right." Peyton agreed.

"I'm just…I'm worried for her. I don't want her to remember. I want to protect her from those memories, not make her vulnerable to that sort of pain. She's like my little sister." He sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"We know, Lucas." Peyton comforted, placing a hand on his arm. "She'll be okay. Nathan wouldn't tell her without consulting you, or us, first."

"I hope so. For both of their sakes, I hope that he hasn't told her. She can't know, Peyton. You and Brooke know that. It'll hurt her more than anything if she found out." Lucas was convinced of this fact, and he wouldn't allow anyone to change his mind.

* * *

><p>Outside, Nathan and Haley were walking along the streets, hand in hand. The walk home so far had been pretty silent, the two just basking in their newly discovered love. Haley was worried that she would lose Nathan and his love the instant the house was in sight. She was worried for what Nathan had to say to Lucas, and vice versa. She was worried about what the two girls would ask her, and what she would be able to tell them. She and Nathan hadn't exactly had the chance to talk their complicated relationship through and decide what to do, they just acted on instinct. The silence between them was both awkward yet comfortable, neither one knowing what to say to the other. Haley leant her head on Nathan's shoulder as they walked and then started swinging their entwined hands. He placed a kiss on the side of her head and smiled at her, before pulling her in front of him and stopping the pair from walking.<p>

"What?" She asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Nothing. I just wanted to kiss you before I have to let you go." He sighed, and bent his head down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

She returned the kiss before looking up at him, her eyes turning watery. "I know I've always said that I hate you. And I don't know why I love you, I really don't. But I feel some sort of…like, attraction, I guess you could say, inside me, and it's pulling me towards you. I don't want to lose you. We're just getting started." She started to get quieter towards the end until her voice turned to a whisper and the tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"Hey, listen to me. I promise you; no matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, you won't lose me. I love you, and I'm here for the long run." He smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and wiping a stray tear that had fallen from her eye. "I need to talk to Lucas, and I know he won't approve. I promised him. I've loved you for longer than you think, Hales. But I promised him, and if he finds out he'll kill me." He sighed.

"So don't tell him." She suggested. "Please, Nathan. Let's just keep it between us. If it means losing you, we won't tell him. Please, he doesn't have to know." She begged as more tears fell from her eyes.

"Alright, we can give it a try. I can't promise he won't find out, it'll look suspicious with both of us coming in together, so I'll tell him that I kissed you and nothing else happened. You have to go along with it, though. Pretend as though you still hate me." He told her. She nodded in response and took his hand in hers again and continued their walk towards the house. As the house came into view, they stopped at the top of their street. Nathan pulled Haley close to him, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat as they enjoyed the final few moments they had before they would have to pretend. He noticed her crying when he felt her body convulsing in sobs against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and pressed his lips to her head. "Oh, Hales." He sighed, before placing another kiss on her head and looking down at her. "Baby, look at me." He requested as she did so. "It's okay. I promised you, didn't I?" He questioned, as she nodded in response and sniffed. "And I still promise. I don't quite know how it'll work out at the moment, but we'll make it work, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, as he reached up to wipe away her tears and place a short, sweet kiss on her lips.

"Alright?" He asked as she nodded. "Good. Now we need to go and face them, are you ready?"

"Mm. I will be. Will I get to see you again tonight?" She asks, expecting no for an answer, but still holding onto the hope that she would at least be able to spend time with her…boyfriend. That would take some getting used to. She hadn't had that before; a boyfriend that is. _Not that she remembers, anyway. _

"I don't know, Hales." He sighed. "It's risky. You know I want to be with you, but if you want to keep this a secret, we've got to be careful." He explained. "Tell you what, I promise; somehow, I'll see you tonight. Wait till they're sleeping, and then meet me in my room. None of them bother coming in there, plus it's the furthest from anyone else's room, they won't bother checking. Now, we've really got to go in there. Ready?"

"Guess I'll have to be. See you tonight, hopefully." She sighed, placing a final, lingering kiss on his lips before pulling away and walking down the street, away from Nathan.

* * *

><p>As they entered the house, they heard the chatter between the three inside stop almost immediately. Haley entered the living room, greeting her three best friends with a warm smile.<p>

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" She asked, as if she knew nothing. She knew she had to be on top form with her acting if she wanted to keep them thinking nothing happened.

"Just wondering how your date went." Brooke announced, looking between Peyton and Lucas before looking back to Haley. Haley knew that wasn't at all what they were wondering, but she had to pretend she believed her, to save the questioning.

"Oh, it was alright. Nothing special, though. I'm not going to see him again; it's just…not going to work out." She managed to get out; lying wasn't exactly her strong point. But it wasn't exactly a lie; it was just twisting the truth a little. "Okay…well…I'm exhausted, so I'm going upstairs. Night guys." She smiled as she turned away from her three best friends before they were able to say a word and made her way up to her room.

* * *

><p><em>She didn't know where she was, but from what she could make out, she was by a river. She had no idea what she was doing there, but when she looked around, it became obvious. There was a boy next to her, a boy she didn't recognize. He had sharp blue eyes and raven black hair, with a muscular frame that towered over her. He was dressed casually, in a button down shirt and a pair of jeans, whilst she appeared to be wearing a summery dress with a flowery pattern on it. She laughed and smiled with the boy next to her, until they decided to go a bit further down the river bank. And that's when everything went black.<em>

"Hales? Baby, wake up." She heard a voice whispering into her ear and arms around her, shaking her gently. When she opened her eyes, she saw Nathan looking into her eyes, his eyes full of worry.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" She asked quietly, looking down.

"Yeah, you almost punched me." He laughed slightly. "Nightmare?"

"Mm, I've been having the same one for around three years now." She sighed. "It's always the same. It's like, I'm drowning, I don't know where, but I'm like, drowning, but then I feel this pair of arms around me, and then it all goes black."

"Shit." Nathan cursed under his breath; unfortunately not quiet enough for Haley not to hear.

"What?" She asked in confusion, thinking he said something.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Do you want some water?" He asked, hoping to distract from the subject.

"No, it's alright. Let's just…sleep."

"Alright. Goodnight, Haley." He pressed his lips to her head, before pulling her back into his arms and letting sleep wash over the both of them.

**REVIEWSSSSSSSSS**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** So I should be revising for my Chemistry mock tomorrow, I'm so nervous. But, because I finished C7 last night, I decided to update. I'm going to revise for Chemistry after this (it will be a fail), and then finish my plan for my business studies controlled assessment reflection and then finish those maths papers. A lot to do. Also, my school's going on strike on Wednesday, yay, not. I suppose you think I should be happy but I'm not! I have History and Sociology on Wednesdays and those two plus Psychology are the three subjects I really want to do well in. I want to do well in all of my subjects but I enjoy those three the most, I'm best at them. Anyway, I'm rehearsing till 8pm tomorrow night, dear god kill me. We're meant to get the band in again...did I mention how disastrous it was the last time?

There's a bit more of an insight (insight she says with a smirk on her face) into what happened to Haley this chapter.

Anywho, replies.

**ObsessivePrincess: **I am sorry. :( You're just as bad! Anyway, the performance went great! Everyone suddenly seemed to pull it together, I felt like I was going to be sick though and that was without dancing! But the adrenaline you get when you're up there is amazing, I can't wait for show week! :D 2 weeks to go! Hehe I'm over the block now! :D It's Stanford, you can't just say fuck it! I'll figure out what to do, hehe. Wait _Haley _is keeping a secret? Did I imply that? *goes to read* Oh with Chris? That wasn't meant to be a secret, that was her being distracted by her fight with Nathan. Hehehe I'm sorry, here's the next one! X

**AleshaaaRose10: **Yeah I kind of think now, looking back on it, I should have slowed it down, but this is a short story, so it doesn't have to be realistic, right? :') You could be right...just read to find out! X

**Godschildtweety: **Maybe...x

**hebewe: **You might possibly be right. XD Enjoy! X

**TessyMeeniac: **Oh I didn't know that was you! :') It's fine, I was going to do it anyway. :) Possibly maybe in this chapter...wait and see ;) x

**hey-torch: **Indeed it does. :) It may not be a secret for much longer, hehehehe. Enjoy this chapter! X

**naley12: **Ooh you're glad? That's a shock, nobody but you is glad! Sorry for the wait! Keep badgering me to do it though and I will do :) x

**kaya17tj: **Possibly...I never tell :) x

**alwaysandforever08: **Glad you like it! It's totally crazy I know but hey, it's fiction! X

**Chapter 6**

The next morning, Nathan looked to his right as he awoke, and noticed Haley's peacefully sleeping form next to him. She looked so beautiful, he was tempted to take her into his arms right there and then and place the most passionate kiss she's ever had on her, but he didn't want to risk waking her up. Instead, he placed a very soft kiss on the back of her head, and slid out of bed carefully, hoping not to wake her. When she stirred a little, he stopped moving and waited to be sure she was out cold. When he was sure that she was, he left the room and headed downstairs to the one person he could talk too.

"Luke, man, we need to talk." He demanded, seeing the dirty blonde sitting on the couch.

"What is it, Nathan? Can't it wait?" Lucas replied, looking over to his brother.

"No." He simply replied, walking further into the room and standing in front of him. "It's Haley."

"What about her?" Lucas questions, intrigued as to Nathan's sudden caring for her.

"She remembers. Let me tell her, Luke. She's been having nightmares about that day since it happened, she told me. You have to let me tell her, man. I can't pretend anymore." He begged.

"What the hell, Nathan!" He raised his voice as he shot up from where he was sitting and walked closer to his brother. "You think manipulating her into falling in love with you will make everything alright? It won't! You know what the doctors said. I'm not having Haley living with those kinds of memories. I promised her parents I'd take care of her, and she's like my little sister. I thought you hated her anyway." He retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Luke, I know what the doctors said. That day, and everything that was said has been playing on repeat in my head for the past three years, and I can't take it anymore. You know I don't hate her, Lucas. She's the love of my life, and she has been since the first day I saw her. I don't want anyone else, I want Haley. And she might not remember, but face the truth, Luke, she wants me too. I kissed her last night, and that's why she's not seeing Chris again, because she's with me." He explained.

"You did what! What the hell! You promised – "

"No, Luke, I didn't promise." He cut off. "You decided that for me. Everyone else decided that I wasn't allowed to tell her, or be with her. I never had the choice, and I've never wanted anything but to tell her the truth and to get her back. And you know that more than anyone. You know what? Haley might not remember what happened to her, but one day, she's going to wake up and she's going to remember it all. What will you do then, Luke? You can't protect her forever."

"Nathan –"

"Forget it. I never stopped loving her, I was the one left with a broken heart. She doesn't remember what we had before the accident, and you know that we were happy. I tried to forget her, but I just can't do it anymore. I can't pretend like I'm not in love with her, because I am. I can't pretend that we didn't have anything before her accident, because we did. So whether you like it or not, Lucas, I'm going to tell her. You'll just have to deal with it." He finishes calmly, before heading back upstairs to Haley.

* * *

><p>"Mm, good morning." She smiles with a slight giggle as Nathan places a soft kiss on her neck. "You're already dressed." She stated.<p>

"Yeah, just went to get some air." He lied.

"Nathan, you know I can tell when you're lying."

"It doesn't matter. I'm sorry. Anyway, I haven't had a kiss yet, come here." He smiled, as she turned over and kissed her gently, as the door to his room opened, and Lucas stood in the doorway, shocked by the sight of them.

"What?" She asked as she looked up and noticed her best friend standing in the doorway. "Lucas, please."

"Forget it. I want you both downstairs in ten minutes and you can try explaining this to me." He ordered sternly, as if he were a furious father, before walking away.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, getting out of the bed. She quickly walked to her room to get herself dressed before walking back into Nathan's room.

"I don't know. Lucas is going to kill me." He sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his head in his hands.

She stood herself in front of Nathan and wound her arms around his neck, before stroking his cheek gently with her thumb. "He's not. He's just angry, he'll get over it." She told him as he pulled her arms from around him.

"No, Hales. You don't get it!" He yelled as he looked up at her.

"There is nothing to get! If anything, it'll be better this way, we can tell him and Brooke and Peyton and we won't have to sneak around, we can be together, Nathan." She smiled in excitement.

"Haley, god, you don't get it! You don't remember anything! You don't remember the accident, me, or what happened between us." He exclaimed angrily as he stood up and walked out of the door, downstairs.

"You can't run away from everything, Nathan!" She yelled after him as she followed him, clearly upset by his reaction.

"Whoa…what's going on?" Brooke asked, standing between the two of them.

"So what is going on, Nathan? How do you explain being in bed with my best friend, who's practically my sister!" Lucas shouted at him.

Haley looked around the room, with a confused look etched on her face. Pretty soon, she realised that everyone in the room knew something that she didn't. What had Nathan meant by not remembering? Had something happened between them that she was supposed to remember? She had to know what was going on, and as they continued to shout at each other, she interrupted them. "Guys!" She yelled, with tears filling her eyes. "Will someone just tell me what on earth is going on? I don't get it! Can someone please explain to me what I don't remember!" She looked around, tears rapidly falling down her face. "Forget it. You all know something that I don't, clearly. Everybody knows but me, fine." She grabbed her keys and her phone before taking a last look at the people who were supposed to be her best friends and running out the door.

"So, how long have you been hiding this, Nathan?" Lucas asked angrily.

"Haley wanted to keep it a secret. It was her idea, because I told her you wouldn't like it. And I guess I was right."

"I'm not just going to stand by and let you break her heart, because you have some teenage crush!"

"Don't you get it yet? This is isn't just a crush; I'm in love with her! And whether you like it or not, I'm going out to find her. And I'm going to tell her." He stated as he walked out of the door and went to look for Haley.

* * *

><p>Haley hadn't a clue where she was going, but after she eventually stopped running, she slowed her pace to a walk. After a while, she noticed she was at the river court, a place she thought was peaceful enough for her to be alone with her thoughts. She sat herself down on the bench at the side of the court and looked at her phone, <em>one new message. <em>

_Where are you? I'm worried. – N x_

She ignored the message and placed her phone back in her pocket before it buzzed again a few minutes later.

_Come on, Hales. Tell me. – N x_

She sighed at the message and debated replying before she decided not to and placed her phone back in her pocket once more.

_I'm sorry. I love you and I'm worried. Please? – N x_

She thought it was sweet that he worried about her, and since he was probably the only person she could deal with seeing, she text him her location and made sure he knew to come alone. Plus the three messages in all of what, 5 minutes, proved he wasn't going to give in.

* * *

><p>When he arrived, he shrugged off his jacket and placed it on her bare arms to warm her up. He then sat down next to her, and wiped the stray tears falling from her eyes.<p>

"It's okay." He said softly, stroking her hair. "Everything's okay now. I'm going to tell you, Hales, but you've got to just listen. Don't interrupt, and if I don't answer all of your questions, you can ask me when I'm done. Just…don't hate us for keeping this from you, okay? We all just wanted to protect you, and as much as I've hated doing that, I swear I never meant for you to get hurt." He explained, placing a kiss on the side of her head before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He opened it up and pulled out a picture from it. He handed it to Haley who stared at it in confusion.

"It's a smaller version of the picture you found in my room the other day. We were 15, it was the day you had your first kiss. You told me you wanted it to be special, and you couldn't think of anyone else you wanted to share your first kiss with, because Lucas was more like your brother." He laughed at the memory. "So I kissed you, and it was the most magical thing I'd ever felt. I asked you to be my girlfriend and you said yes." He smiled. "We were dating for about three months when I told you I loved you, and you said it back."

He gave her another picture to look at, another one of them as 15 year olds, however it was 3 months in the future from the last picture. "Your mom took that one." He stated. "She said we were too cute not to have a document of the day we expressed our love or something like that." He laughed. "She got it printed and then gave it to me to keep. Taylor and Quinn always used to tease you for loving me. They were just jealous." He laughed again. "They were supportive really, though."

"So what about this accident I don't remember?" She asked.

"I was getting to that. About a month after I told you I loved you, we were hanging out by the river. We were sat on the bank and I kissed you and told you how I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. You said it back, and then after a while you wanted to be a bit more adventurous, so you tried to go further down the bank." He took a deep breath as he explained the next bit to her. "I told you to be careful, and you said you'd be fine. The next thing I knew, you fell." His eyes were starting to water at the mere memory of the day he nearly lost her. "You hit your head on a rock when you fell, and you were in a coma for two weeks. I was with you every day while you were at the hospital, I felt so guilty for not stopping you. The doctors' weren't sure that you'd make it. I was so worried. I thought I'd never get to hear your beautiful voice again, so I stayed with you every day and every night. When you eventually woke up, you had no memory of what happened, or of me. You remembered being friends with the others, and all the things you did with them, but you forgot me."

As he explained the events to her, the tears he was trying so desperately to keep at bay fell down his face, prompting her to place a kiss on his cheek. "I tried to forget you, because everyone told me it was for the best that you didn't remember. That's why I pretended to hate you, because I thought it would be easier than if I liked you. But I still loved you, I never stopped. When you went on that date with Chris, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to tell you. So here we are." He laughed slightly.

"Wow…um…I don't…I don't know what to say. Thank you for telling me, I was starting to feel out of the loop. I can't believe that all happened. But I guess now we can be together, right?" She asked hopefully, looking up at him.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled, as they leant in together and shared their first kiss as the couple they were destined to be years ago. "Come on, let's get you home." And with that, they stood up from the bench they were sitting at, and walked hand in hand back to the house.

* * *

><p>"I need to talk to Lucas." Haley stated as they approached the house.<p>

"Alright. I'll be in my room, okay?" He smiled, pressing his lips to her forehead before opening the door and dropping her hand, heading up to his room.

She walked in and noticed Lucas sitting on the couch, with his head in his hands. She walked over to him and sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Hey." She smiled.

"Haley, you've got to understand. I'm so sorry, I know, I should have told you, but I just wanted to protect you." He explained, looking up at her desperately.

"It's okay." She said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "I understand now. But is there anything else?"

"Nope, just that. It hit Nathan the hardest, though; you should probably talk to him about that. He closed himself of to everyone for three years, until he opened his heart to you again. It killed him when you didn't remember." He explained.

She nodded at his explanation and smiled as she stood up and made her way up the stairs and into her boyfriend's bedroom, to see him sitting on the end of his bed staring at a framed picture of the two of them.

"Hi beautiful." He smiled as he noticed her presence. "You want to know more, huh?" He asked as she nodded.

"I mean, I know all that now, but when did we first meet? From what I know I thought it was when we moved into this place. But now you're telling me we dated when we were fifteen and I don't know –"

"Hales. I knew you long before you were fifteen." He interrupted. "We met in second grade, and we were best friends, just like you and Lucas. We kind of drifted apart in middle school and then obviously you don't remember much of high school." He laughed slightly.

"But why can't I remember?" She asked, tears filling her eyes.

He noticed her watery eyes and pulled her into his side, placing kisses on the top of her head. "It's alright, Hales. You might not remember but I do. And I'll fill you in on all the blanks, if that's what you need."

"Thank you, Nathan." She smiled, preparing to spend the next few..._how ever long it was going to take..._trying to remember her old life.

**love it? hate it? let me know!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am actually beyond sorry that I haven't updated! It took me absolutely ages ****to get this chapter the way I wanted it, and when I finally did get it right, I'd literally just updated with C6. But then I forgot and had mock exams and just, ahh. In other, brighter news, remember how I've been saying since September that I've been rehearsing WWRY? OPENING NIGHT IS ON TUESDAY. :D I'm actually so excited it's unreal. Being a 'Yuppie' (fans will know what I mean) I get to do a lot more than the ensemble. We have two dances as Yuppies, 'Killer Queen' and 'It's a kind of magic' as well as 'Radio GaGa'; 'We are the champions' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in which we get to do a lot more than the ensemble. BOOYA. We're not in Act 2 until the very end for the latter mentioned songs, but ah well. My family is coming to see me Wednesday and both our headteachers will be there Thursday night. Best part is I'm off time table all week so no lessons and no getting in trouble for not handing in homework, yay. Plus this last rehearsal with the band went a lot better than expected and I'm very excited now.**

**Wish me luck, the last time we performed, at the Y11 celebration evening, in front of 500 people, I was shaking like mad and that was just singing.**

**Also, this chapter kind of gives you more of an insight to Haley's life prior to her accident, but not only that, it's kind of based on personal experience. Anything about boys I altered to fit the situation, I don't have any male friends nor have I ever had a boyfriend..so, yeah, anyway, personal. Hard for me to write, but I did it. You might think it's a bit pathetic but I'm just a 15 year old girl, things happen, emotions run high, etc. **

**anywaaaaaaaaay..**

**Review replies:**

**naley12: If you liked that chapter with their relationship you'll love this ;) hehe, thanks for the review + enjoy! x**

**Godschildtweety: Thanks very much! E**njoy! ****

****kaya17tj: I did originally write something more but I kind of felt like despite having amnesia, saying 'I love you' just after she found out what happened was a bit too much. T**hanks for the review + enjoy! ******

******Halle: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! ************

************CoachMom: I know right? XD But Lucas is always so...I don't know, boring, I guess, so I wanted to write him angry. It was fun. XD Lucas is definitely _not _in love with Haley, he just views her as a little sister, and was trying that whole big brother protective routine. Reading it back it was a bit creepy, though. ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! ******************

******************TessyManiac: Thank you! :) Chemistry was a flop hahahaa, Sociology paper 1 went really well and paper 2 was a fail cos I didn't revise enough and I didn't know what to write so I guessed most of it. I know, poor Nathan. :( ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! ************************

************************AleshaaaRose10: Thank you for the luck, didn't do much I still failed hahaha. I think GCSEs are the equivalent of like SATs there..lol. No it didn't upset me, don't worry! After the criticism I was given on my last fic I learnt to take it and not get upset, it just helps to know what my readers think, you know? ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! ******************************

******************************hebewe: Just cos...it worked with my story idea, hahaha. No idea why, I'm not a doctor nor ever will be. I felt for him too lol. ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! ************************************

************************************hey-torch: Thanks! :) I'm glad it's out there, too, I can stop skirting around spoilers haha. ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! x******************************************

******************************************ObsessivePrincess: You know you are. :-) Except you work so you gots a reason, I just have school lol. Hahahaha. I know, but it's fun to write. XD I know! ****T**hanks for the review + enjoy! xx************************************************

**Chapter 7**

_3 years ago_

It was a bright Friday afternoon, and school had just ended for the week. A 15 year old Nathan and Haley were enjoying their afternoon together, as was tradition for them. They spent every Friday afternoon together without fail, and had been going by that tradition since they were 10. Now in sophomore year of high school, the two were closer than ever. They were best friends, and had been since the age of 5. They were inseparable; attached at the hip since grade school. Their friendship was undeniable, and everybody knew they'd be best friends forever. They were always hanging out with each other.

Their mothers used to gossip when they younger, hoping their children would realise the obvious attraction between them and get together. For Nathan and Haley, however, it was too weird for them to be in a relationship. They were happy being best friends; they were too much like a brother and sister to be in a relationship. At least, that's what it was like a few years ago. As the pair grew up, it seemed as if the sibling aspect of their relationship had slowly decreased, before it became nothing.

They'd slowly drifted apart slightly in middle school; Nathan was the popular young athlete with great promise to make the varsity basketball team in high school. He was practically king of the school, everybody loved him. Haley was the complete opposite, however. She was unknown to the social hierarchy, and preferred to keep it that way. She was happy with her friends, the few she had, and she didn't need popularity, attention and fake friends to be happy. She figured she'd just let Nathan get on with whatever it was he was doing and keep herself to herself.

On this bright Friday afternoon, Nathan and Haley were hanging out at what they'd deemed as 'their spot'. It was a little picnic area in an opening in the clearing, the perfect place to sit and talk, or to hang out, or to do anything, really. Where the trees created an opening, a river flowed in the middle of the two sides of the clearing. There was an identical opening in the clearing on the other side of the river; however they didn't tend to go there.

Nathan hadn't told Haley where they were going, and once she realised where they were, she questioned it instantly.

"Nathan, what are we doing here?" she asked with a laugh.

"You're so impatient." He laughed in reply. "I told you, Friday is our day to hang out. We don't have a reason for being here."

"But you must have a reason for bringing us _here. _To this exact spot." She pushed.

"Well it's our spot, for one. Other than that, like I said about ten seconds ago, we don't have a reason for being here." He supplied as an answer.

"Alright, whatever you say." She laughed.

The two walked alongside each other in a comfortable silence through the clearing, until they reached an opening in it with a grassy bank leading down to the river. When they got to this spot, Nathan took Haley's hand in his and led her onto the bank to sit and eat. What she didn't know is he'd had food and a picnic blanket left there for them. They sat down on the blanket, each with a smile on their face and began to dig into their favourites.

* * *

><p>"So how does that get me my first kiss?" Haley questioned to Nathan. The newly reacquainted couple were sitting on the couch in their home, revisiting the memories Haley had forgotten. Nathan dug out every picture and video he could find that would help her to remember her old life. They sat together on the couch, as close together as possible; Haley leaning into Nathan's side with his arm around her shoulders.<p>

"Just be patient, Hales. Isn't it you that always tells me 'patience is a virtue'?" He laughs, tapping her nose.

"Well in this case it doesn't apply. You're telling me the story of how I got my first kiss, so come on, carry on." She insisted, looking up at him.

"Alright, calm down." He laughed. "I'll tell you."

* * *

><p>Nathan and Haley continued to enjoy their afternoon in the clearing, just like old times. Once they finished eating, the moved the picnic basket aside and laid down on their fronts to face each other.<p>

"So how's high school working out for you?" Nathan asked his best friend. They were nearly half way through their freshman year in high school, and they hadn't had the chance to catch up with each other a lot lately.

"Good. I like it. Definitely more of a challenge than middle school, at least." She replied simply. The truth of the matter was that she didn't really like high school. The girls were all bitches to her, because she was smart. The guys were a lot more…forward than in middle school. She wasn't used to it at all, no boys paid her any attention other than Nathan and Lucas in middle school, and now she'd come to high school, boys, older boys, gave her looks she didn't appreciate.

But, she'd never tell Nathan that. He may be her best friend, but she felt like he was protective over her, and if she said anything, it could put a strain on their friendship. She'd seen the movies, she knew how it worked. The female best friend would tell the male best friend she hated high school and the girls were bitches and the guys were perverts, and he'd instantly threaten to kill whoever it was that upset his best friend. She didn't want that, it was embarrassing.

"Come on, Hales, you know I can tell when you lying. Tell me the truth, please." He looked at her in a way he had done multiple times when they were younger. It was the look that he knew she couldn't resist: the concerned best friend look. "Please." He begged, sitting up and placing his hand on top of hers.

She sat herself up and looked into Nathan's eyes briefly before lowering her gaze to the river in front of them. It was simple and beautiful, just how she remembered. As she debated telling Nathan all about her sad high school life so far, tears filled her eyes with the memories of the pain.

"Oh Haley. Is it really that bad?" He asked as he noticed her tears. When she didn't say anything, he knew it was worse. Even he knew that a girl's loudest cry is silence. "Please don't cry, Hales. You can tell me anything." He pleaded with her, taking her hand in his and using his other hand to make her look at him.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. Nathan was right, she could tell him anything. "I'm just…I'm not good enough. Things were easy in middle school, I knew who my friends were and I was happy. It's all different now, it's all changed. You're on junior varsity and next year you'll make it to varsity. You'll forget me again, with all the cheerleaders that will be throwing themselves at you. They're prettier than I am. Guys want them. They're talented, and pretty. I'm neither. Even Lucas is starting to forget me, and he's on JV, too. And the girls…I can't be friends with people like that. They're bitches. I don't know what I did to make them hate me so much, but they do. I can't take it anymore. What am I supposed to do, Nathan?" She sobbed, as she finally told someone of all her problems.

He moved closer to her and pulled her into a hug as she cried, before pulling back and wiping her tears for her. "I don't think you're not good enough, Hales. You're beautiful, like an angel." He smiled.

"Thank you." She sniffed, looking up slightly. "But if that's really true, why haven't I had my first kiss?" She asked.

"You haven't had your first kiss?"

"No. It's alright; you can make fun of now. You've probably had hundreds. You made out with Peyton all the time." Haley admitted embarrassed. Peyton was Nathan's ex-girlfriend; they'd dated since the beginning of freshman year up until around last week. Peyton said she was sick of Nathan's party animal ways and split up with him. Turns out Lucas were almost the male opposite of her, and she'd taken a liking to him almost instantly.

"I'm not going to make fun of you, Hales. You're my best friend, remember?" He smiled. "But you've really never been kissed?" She shook her head sheepishly. "Well…I think you're beautiful, and any guy would be lucky to say you're his girlfriend."

"Thanks, Nate. That's actually really nice." She sniffed with a slight laugh. "But I don't see how I'll get my first kiss, I only know two guys: you and Lucas. But Lucas is more like an older brother, and you're my best friend."

"Well…I'm not your brother. I'm your best friend, sure, but doesn't that make it more special?" Nathan suggested.

"Make what more special?"

"This."

Before she knew it, Nathan was leaning towards her with his eyes shut. She was shocked, to say the least. Nathan wasn't like her brother, well not as much as Lucas anyway, but it was still a shock to be kissing her best friend. And her first kiss, too. She hesitated for a moment, _what was she supposed to do? _Should she kiss him back, and get her first kiss over with? Or tell him to stop because it wasn't right? After a second, she convinced herself to stop hesitating. She made her decision in a split second and as he got closer, so did she. She closed her eyes and moved her head in the opposite direction to Nathan. He opened his eyes for a second and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head slightly. Once he was about an inch from her lips, they both closed their eyes and very softly pressed their lips together. At least he knew what he was doing. He knew this was a first for her, so he guided her through it. He kept one hand under her chin and one hand on her waist, bringing her closer to him.

After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other and looked into one another's eyes. The kiss was both magical and innocent. It was like one of those kisses they described as one for the story books, when the sparks flew and the overwhelming feeling of happiness consumes you. A small smile made its way onto Haley's face, and she shyly and slowly looked up to him.

"So…" Nathan said, averting his gaze. "Was it okay? I didn't ruin your first kiss did I?"

"No, of course not!" She exclaimed, looking up at him, as he did to her. "It was…magical. It was perfect, Nathan. I couldn't ask for it to be more special. Thank you." She smiled greatly.

"Good, I'm glad. So…what does that mean for…us, then?" He questioned curiously. He couldn't help but wonder what it meant for them, Haley was his best friend, and that kiss was like something he'd never experienced before. He may only be 15, but already Haley was the best kiss he'd ever had.

"What do you mean? It was just a kiss, right?" She replied.

"Well…yeah, I suppose."

"Did you…um, want it to be more?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Um…I suppose you could say that. You're my best friend, Hales. But that kiss…it was like something I'd never experienced. Do you think we should give it a go?" He told her nervously.

"Well…maybe we should. It wasn't that bad, was it?" She suggested.

"If you want to…I think I really want you to be my girlfriend. So what do you say, you up for it?" He asked.

"If you'll have me." She giggled, more out of nerves than anything else.

"If I get to kiss you again, then sure I will." He replied.

With his final statement, Haley's confidence grew and she moved closer to her boyfriend (that would certainly take some getting used too) and pressed her lips against his again, the sparks just as present as the first time.

* * *

><p>"Aw, you were so sweet." Haley laughed, looking up at Nathan. She loved the story he'd told her, and couldn't be happier he'd began to tell the truth about her situation and the memories they'd shared.<p>

"You were so nervous; I generally thought you were going to vomit." He laughed in reply. "But that, Haley James, is how you officially became my girlfriend."

"I'm glad you told me. I think maybe I start to understand why everything has been going so fast with us. So now will you tell me the story of when you told me you loved me?" She begged, batting her eyelashes.

"Of course I will. Anything for you, my beautiful girl." He smiled, placing a soft, sweet, chaste kiss on her lips.

* * *

><p><strong>thoughts? <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi, sorry for the lack of updates! I've had trouble writing this one. I don't know why, I was just blocked for ages. Anyway, not a lot of time for a long A/N, but Merry Christmas all! It's over in 45 minutes where I live but I promised my Breyinnley girls I'd have something out for today, and they're all waiting on me! So I've had no time to get this betaed. I just needed to get it out!**

**I'll reply to all reviews via PM if you have an account, if not I'll do it next chapter, promise! **

**To my Breyinnley girls, I love you so much and I'm sorry y'all are waiting on me! Meeting all of you (minus Ash) has been such a highlight of my year, and we've all grown closer than I ever thought we would. Twitter conversations at 2 in the morning, a joke. Anyway, Merry Christmas girls! Sorry this is so late, I love yous!**

**PS ~ go read I'll Stand by You by othfan1919, What Lies Ahead by ObsessivePrincess and Passions Torment by !**

**Chapter 8**

_Set 3 months after the last chapter_

A bright Friday afternoon, a teenage Nathan and Haley were again spending it in their favourite place. The forest in the town was their spot; their place to spend time together away from everybody else. They spent time together nearly every day now, a lot more than they used to. Whether or not that was down to the fact that they were now dating didn't really matter, they enjoyed each other's company and that was all that mattered.

They'd been dating about three months now, and had told everyone that needed telling about their relationship after the first two weeks, just to make sure it was going to work. They'd definitely got some shock responses from people at first, wondering how on earth they could be together when they were best friends. The real story had been altered a bit when telling people how they got together, just because Haley didn't want to broadcast her insecurities or her moment of weakness.

Haley's father and siblings had definitely been amongst the most shocked, they never thought for a minute they would be more than friends. Haley's mom had thought differently to everyone else, though, she predicted long ago that the two of them would end up together, but everyone said she was crazy. Even Haley said she was crazy, Nathan was her best friend and she never thought it would be anything more than that. Obviously, she'd thought wrong.

Lucas was happy for them both, but said he'd never seen it coming. The newly formed couple were just as shocked themselves; they never expected to end up in this situation, but they had, and were happier than ever.

Nathan had planned this whole afternoon in the forest for them, as they approached the three month mark he wanted to make sure it was special. He knew how much anniversaries meant to Haley, whether they were big or small, she loved celebrating them. Nathan thought it was strange, but it was just something he loved about her.

Yep, Nathan Scott was falling in love. He hadn't known it for long; he just started to feel different when he looked at Haley now. He always liked her, and when she became his girlfriend, of course he liked her even more, but now when he looked at her, he just knew. He knew it was love. Those never ending butterflies in his stomach whenever she smiled and the smile that would creep across his face when somebody mentioned her name; he just knew.

When he was with her, well that was a whole other story: he couldn't stop smiling when he was around her, his heart started racing whenever she spoke, and when she said his name, he was sure he was being spoken to by an angel.

Haley brought out the good in him. He never used to make romantic gestures like buying his girlfriend flowers. He gave her kisses for no reason at all, not wanting it to lead anywhere, just for the pure show of affection. He held her hand when they were out, just to feel closer to her. He let her lean against his body while he put his arms around her and they admired the sunset together.

He'd never done things like that with Peyton. With Peyton, he used to care, but as time passed, their relationship didn't work out so well. Pretty soon it became pretty much just physical between them, using each other for sex when it suited them. He'd never even _dream _of using Haley for sex, she meant too much to him to lose her.

Haley meant the world to Nathan, and he wanted to make sure she knew that. That's what the point of this afternoon was all about; showing Haley how much he really cared about her. He also planned on telling her that he loved her, he'd kept it inside for about two weeks now, and he knew he had to tell her. He didn't know how he could tell her, he wanted it to be perfect, but he just knew he had too.

That's why he'd brought her to their spot in the forest; he wanted everything to be as special as possible for her. He brought all her favourite things, too, like mac and cheese. She'd even managed to bring him round on that one; she made it for him on one of their many date nights and he'd liked it since. Since he couldn't cook for the life of him, he got Karen to help him out, and provide for their date. He'd mentioned it was a special occasion, and she was more than happy to help him. Karen was amongst the people who were happy for the couple, Haley was like a daughter to her and she only wanted for her to be happy.

Come to think of it, nearly everyone they knew was happy for them. Minus Nathan's father who believed she only distracted him from basketball; the girls on the JV cheerleading squad who were jealous they no longer had a shot; and Haley's father, at first. But he'd come around, just like any father would.

He understood where Jimmy was coming from; any father would be over protective of his baby girl. Fathers were protective over any daughter they had, but the babies were more prone to it than others. With Haley being the youngest of her big family, her parents looked out for her more. Neither one wanted their baby hurt.

But Nathan was a good guy, he loved Haley, and he'd never dream of hurting her. He'd hurt himself long before he'd hurt her.

He waited for her by her locker as he promised; ready to take her out for their afternoon together, just as they did every Friday. It was almost like a routine now; he'd wait by her locker on a Friday afternoon, wait for her to gather her things, walk her home to drop her things inside and then walk to wherever it was he was taking her that afternoon. They would sometimes spend time in her home, or in his, especially if it was cold outside. But for the most part, they would spend Friday's together elsewhere on a date.

He watched her as she walked down the hallway, her smile only increasing when she noticed him standing by her locker.

"Hello, beautiful." He greeted her with a smile and a quick chaste kiss before letting her opens her locker. "I missed you today. How are all your AP classes working out for you?" He laughed. Nathan wasn't as smart as his girlfriend, and would never consider taking an AP class for anything.

"They're fine." She smirked. "I'm blowing off homework and extra credit work to hang out with you. I hope you've planned something special." She joked. She didn't even need this time to do her homework, most of it was already done and the parts she hadn't done weren't due for another few days.

"Oh I do. I feel oh so special that my smart ass girlfriend would rather spend time with me than do her homework." He chuckled. "Come on, let's get out of here." He held out his hand for her once she'd closed her locker and walked down the hallway to the exit with her.

Later that afternoon, after the two arrived in the forest and had eaten all they could, the sun was starting to set. Their spot was the perfect one for watching the sunset, all the clouds and the sky in their multiple shades of pinks and oranges looked beautiful. It was definitely a romantic spot.

The two had moved closer to each other over the course of their date, and Haley was now leaning against Nathan's chest whilst he wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his lips to her head every so often as a gesture of affection, whilst for the most part they stayed silent and just enjoyed the comfortable silence between them.

"Thanks for bringing me here today, Nathan. This really has been the perfect date." She beamed, leaning up and pressing her lips to his.

"You're welcome. I wanted it to be perfect. I kind of figured something out about two weeks ago now, and I've been keeping it inside since. I don't…really know how to tell you this, but I gotta tell you. I can't keep it secret anymore. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that…I love you, Hales, and I always will. I know it's a bit early for that, but I really do love you. I just hope you can say it back." He sighed, getting it all out.

"Wow…well that…is definitely something. But there it is. And I love you, too, Nathan." She smiled, with a giggle. "I really really do." She leant forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips, beaming with joy.

"Good, I'm glad. I was so nervous you wouldn't say it back." He laughed.

"Well you had no need to be." She giggled, pressing her lips to his again. "I love you, and that's all that matters. You and me, together; that's all that matters now, right?"

"You and me, that's all that matters," He nodded in agreement.

_Present day_

"Aw you were so cute!" Haley laughed, as Nathan finished his story.

"Cute is not the word I would use." He rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Anyway, after that you took me back to your house. Your mom could tell instantly, apparently. She said it was the way we looked at each other, she knew it was love. So she took a picture when we weren't looking." He explained, handing her a photo from her house that day. It was a picture of the two of them cuddled up on the sofa, Haley leaning her head against Nathan's chest with a smile on her face. He then handed her another photo, of the two of them in Haley's old bedroom, which looked like they were both asleep.

"Tell me about it?" She requested.

"Of course."

_Three years ago_

After their declaration of love in the forest it started to get dark, so they left their spot and headed back to Haley's house. When they walked in the door, Haley's mom, Lydia, greeted them.

"Nathan, how lovely to see you." She smiled. "Come in. Sit down." She insisted, leading them into the living room.

"Mom, stop. Nathan and I just wanted to hang out." Haley laughed nervously. "Hi, daddy." She smiled as she walked into the living room and noticed her dad watching a game on TV.

"Hey, princess." Haley and her father were incredibly close and Haley loved making him proud more than anyone else. "Nathan, nice to see you. Still treating my daughter right I hope?" He raised an eyebrow at his daughter's boyfriend, slightly intimidating him.

"Of course, Mr James. I'd never hurt her." He announced.

"Sit down then." He chuckled, as the couple sat on the couch as close to each other as they could.

"Wait, I know that look." Lydia started, looking at the young couple. "Oh Jimmy, the pair of them are in love!"

"Mom!" Haley half shouted. "How did you know that?"

"So it's true? You only have to take one look at you two to notice, Haley Bob." She explained.

"Well, yeah, I love Nathan. And he loves me, too." She smiled, refraining from kissing in front of her parents, instead taking his hand and squeezing it.

"What's this?" Haley's older sister, Taylor, stood in the doorway with a smirk on her face. "Little Haley Bobs in love, eh? Who knew Haley was actually capable of love?"

"Shut up, Tay. You're just jealous because you move from guy to guy but it's never more than one night." Haley retorted.

"You're right, but at least I'm getting some, right?" She winked.

"You know I want to be a virgin until I'm married!" She whined, hating it when Taylor made jokes about her sex life.

"Girls, that's enough." Lydia warned. "Taylor, leave your sister alone. Haley, don't let Taylor get to you."

Haley nodded with a sigh and rolled her eyes, before standing up and pulling Nathan with her. "Nathan and I are going to be in my room." She took hold of Nathan's hand and pulled him out the room with her, barging Taylor on purpose on the way out.

"Keep your door open!" Jimmy called to her. He knew his daughter wouldn't do anything with Nathan, especially not with her parents in the house, but he liked to be sure he could know what they were doing at all times.

Haley and Nathan walked up to her room, before Haley flopped herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. She sighed and then rolled over to see Nathan perched on the side of her bed staring at her.

"Did I ever mention how much Taylor irritates me?" She asked rhetorically.

"Once or twice. Look, just don't let her get to you, Hales. Your choice is your choice and her choice is hers." He comforted, stroking her hand. She sat up and cuddled into his arm.

"You don't think I'm a tease do you? I mean, I know we're only 15 but other guys and girls in our year have done…you know, it. But I don't want too; I want to save myself for my husband. I can give him the gift I can't ever give anyone else, and I want my first time to be special and with somebody I know will love me."

"Hales, it's cool with me. I won't pressure you into anything, you know that. I love you, remember?" He smiled, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

"I love you, too." She sighed happily. "Now come on, let's get some studying done."

**hope you liked it! reviews would be great!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm SO sorry it's taken so long to update, but if you read my profile you'd know that I've had exams these last few weeks and I've literally been revising in all my spare time for them, and it still didn't feel enough when I opened those exam papers. Ah well, guess I'll have to wait till August to find out how terribly I did...**

**I didn't mention in my last A/N everything that's going on because I had like 45 minutes to get the chapter out for Christmas. So opening night, and the next two nights, of WWRY came and went, and oh my good GODDDDD I cannot tell you how insane it was! We were all on such a high, we sold out more seats every night and on our closing night, we had to put in more chairs due to popular demand! It was just the best feeling in the world getting up there and performing what we'd been rehearsing for 3 months straight. I kind of feel a bit lost now, though, because I used to rehearse every Monday&Tuesday and now I just come home after school. I haven't seen afternoon light for three months. lol my life. I wish I could go back and do it all again because despite the shouting, the tears, the tantrums, the drama, there wasn't a single _second _that went by that I didn't love what I was doing and I would do it all over again if given the chance. I miss my cast mates, we had grown together for three months to become like a family and we saw each other all day every day from 8:30am - 10:30pm on that last week, so we truly were like a family. I miss everyone, I miss what we were doing, I miss being part of something so great, you know?**

**My dance teacher is now forcing us to wear leotards in class, so if the fire alarm goes off, off we go, outside in the cold, in leotards. I have to come up with a stimulus and a song to fit the stimulus for my solo choreography by Monday and I'm so worried, I don't have a clue what to pick! Help anyone? **

**Anyway, this took me _forever _to get done and finally it's done! I'm sorry that it's so short, but I promise the next one will be longer and more drama filled. Also there's not a lot of speech in this chapter until the end where even there it isn't much...sorry!**

**Review replies:**

**Slytherin Princess 1313: **thank you so much! I hope you had a great holiday season! Hahaha sorry about that, I try my best to put it so everyone understands but that doesn't always work :p Thanks for the luck + the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter! :} x

**hebewe: **Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it! Naley I love yous and Haley's family are always fun to write :} Oh my gosh was it your birthday! Happy [belated] birthday! So sorry for the wait, but hope you enjoy this chapter! :} x

**Godschildtweety: **Thank you! :} x

**hey-torch:** I'd _never _ignore a review from you of all people, lol! That sounds bad...I mean it in a good way! I've told you before you're amazing and I love your stuff, but I'll tell you again! Flashbacks are fun! :D Not the whole town just...people who knew Haley at that age...which was practically everyone. Thanks for the review, hope you continue to enjoy! :} x

**TessyManiac: **ooh sorry for the wait...I suck at updating. Thanks, hope you enjoy this chapter! :} x

**naley12: **I'm glad you like it! Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy this chapter! :} x

**AleshaaaRose10: **More Naley past next chapter but for now, present Naley :p hope you enjoy this chapter! :} x

_phew, that's everyone...on with the show!_

**Chapter 9**

_Present day _

Haley and Nathan had been on good terms for three weeks now, and were starting to establish their relationship. Haley was still learning about her 'previous' life if you like, and by the sounds of things, her and Nathan were once deeply in love. Nathan was telling her as much about her life before the accident as he could, in order to try to trigger anything in Haley's mind. All he wanted was to go back to how it was, but he knew that he couldn't have that.

They both knew it, really, in their subconscious if anything. They both knew that no matter what, they wouldn't get their 'old' life back, but surprisingly they were okay with that. They were working at their own pace, taking their relationship slow to give Haley time to get used to the idea of them, again, even if she didn't remember them before. They would make new memories together, share new good times, and have a new relationship.

They had still yet to discuss the ever impending issue of college, since they planned on attending schools across the country from each other. Nathan wanted to stay east and attend Duke, which was luckily in-state, whilst Haley wanted to check out west and attend Stanford, one of the best schools in America. Of course neither of them had planned for this relationship to happen when they applied to their respective dream schools, but now that it had, they were left wondering what was going to happen.

They still had a fair amount of time together before they had to leave for college, but they decided not to waste that time together by talking about it. They knew they would have to at some point, but they just hadn't decided when that moment would be. With Haley knowing about everything (well, _almost_ everything) that happened to her sophomore year, they'd spent more time discussing their past rather than their future.

It was Haley's idea of course that she is told everything, she wanted to know everything and anything about her past if she was going to attempt this relationship. She didn't want secrets and lies; she knew successful relationships had neither of those things. She wanted her relationship with Nathan to work, despite her past.

She wanted to move on her from her past, but in order for her to do that, she had to know everything about it first. Nathan had told her most of it, or at least most of the significant events in her life previously forgotten; all except for one: the accident.

She knew what happened to her, he'd told her that much when she'd asked him the first time, but he'd never elaborated further. She just needed to know _how _she ended up that way, why it was Nathan she'd forgotten, why not Brooke or Peyton or Lucas?

There was so much she wanted to know, and Nathan was the only one who she could ask about it. Sure, she could ask the others or her parents or her family, but Nathan had told her everything so far, and she trusted him to tell her the truth, not a shortened or less detailed version of events.

So that's how she found everything out, she'd ask and he'd tell; no interruptions, no watered down version, no lies, just the simple truth of the matter. So he'd told her he'd tell her, but not until he felt she was ready to hear the truth. She'd all but begged him to tell her, she didn't understand why he was keeping it from her. She didn't understand why _any _of this stuff had been kept from her for so long. It was _her _life.

She was about to start attending one of the best schools in the country, her dream school. She'd wanted to go to Stanford ever since she was eight years old and she saw the campus for the first time when her parents took her eldest sister, Vivian, to see it. But she felt like she was about to start over with her life. A whole part of it was left out after her accident, and she'd only just managed to get that information back.

She figured she'd ask Nathan to tell her today, when she saw him. They were spending the day in the park, since the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, they decided it was too nice a day to spend inside. They decided on bringing a picnic to the park, since they'd probably be there most of the afternoon.

Haley spent most of the morning preparing food for them to take with them on their date, as they called it. There wasn't much else too call it really, they were spending time together romantically as a couple and getting to know each other once again. The last part was more for Haley's benefit than anything, since she'd discovered she and Nathan were once best friends, _a couple, _she'd been determined to find out everything she could about him and act like a _real _girlfriend.

* * *

><p>When they met up that afternoon, they greeted each other with a kiss as they always did, before intertwining their hands and walking towards the park. Once they arrived and had found the perfect spot, they set the blanket down and laid there in content silence for a while.<p>

They lay together, bodies entwined with each other as Haley rested her head on her boyfriend's chest, listening to the calming sound of his heart beating and his breathing pattern. He stroked her hair gently, occasionally dropping kisses to her head in affection. It was the quiet moments like this in their relationship that kept it the epic love story it was. They weren't a couple for huge parties or grand gestures, but preferred spending their time together just _being. _Watching movies, ordering take out, lying together in the park, it was the simple things for them.

After a while of the content silence, Haley couldn't take the suspension anymore and sat herself up, looking at Nathan who promptly did the same. He instantaneously grabbed her hands, looked into her eyes and tried to search for some sort of clue as to why she'd just sat up so suddenly. She wasn't giving away anything, so he began talking.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing. Well…" She trailed off after seeing the look he'd given her. He always knew when she was covering the truth.

"You can tell me anything, Hales. You know that." He responded, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "What is it?"

"Tell me how the accident happened."

"You already know how it happened." He replied, dropping his hand.

"I mean it, Nathan. Tell me what really happened. You're the only one who's ever told me the truth about what happened to me and I'm sick of being kept in the dark. It's my life…or at least it was…and I deserve to know the truth." She spoke freely, almost pleading with him. If not for her words, her eyes definitely gave away the pleading tone to her request.

Nathan sighed and took her hand again, before returning to stroking her cheek. He looked deep into her eyes and closed his own before gently brushing his lips against hers. "I don't…I don't want to hurt you, Hales. It still hurts me to think about what happened to you that day. I almost lost you for good. There's a reason we kept it from you these last two years and that reason was to protect you. I have to live with the fact that I nearly lost the love of my life for good every single day for the rest of my life, and I don't want that for you. I wouldn't wish it on anybody, especially not you. I love you and I don't…I don't want to hurt you." He sighed as he finished his unexpected and much unplanned speech, looking deep into her eyes, stroking her face gently.

"I…I, um…don't know what to say. I didn't realise you cared so much. I guess I always thought it was my life and that people were keeping it from me. I didn't realise why it was kept from me. I love that you care, Nathan, I really do," she started, sending a small smile in his direction before continuing. "But I have to know what happened. If we truly want to live in the present and not the past, we have to get the past out of the way. I need to know what happened if we're ever going to truly move on."

He knew she was right, really. But he was haunted by that day every day, and even though he and Haley were happy now, he knew they would always be overshadowed by their past. He didn't _want _to tell Haley what happened, he didn't want to run the risk of triggering painful memories for her, nor did he want her to feel what he felt every day.

But she was right, it was her life. And until they got the past out of the way, they'd never stop being overshadowed by it. He knew that she had to know what happened to her, it was her life and she had the right to know. And he knew as well as she did that she'd not give up until she was told what she wanted to know. He sighed as he looked at her with the 'fine, you win' expression written on his face. But just in case she couldn't tell, he thought he'd make it more obvious and say it out loud.

"You're right. We'll never escape our past if we don't talk about it, so that's exactly what we're going to do. I'll tell you what happened, but you can't interrupt. If it hurts too much, for either of us, I'm going to stop. I can't be responsible for letting you live with those sorts of memories. Got it?" He asked, listing his conditions to giving in to her request.

"I got it." She nodded firmly.

"Good. One more thing."

"What is it?" She asked. What else could there possibly be?

"I love you, and no matter what happens, or what has happened, I always will. You have to know that, okay? I love you more than anyone on this planet, and you're the only one that matters to me. You hear me? _The only one. _I always have and always will love you. You just…needed to know that, okay?" He finished his second speech of the day, watching her contently as she nodded. He gently pressed his lips to hers for a few seconds before pulling away and letting her speak.

"I love you, too." She smiled, moving herself to sit comfortably with him as he began to tell her exactly what she wanted to know.

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><p><strong>thoughts! Drop me a review!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

******A/N: **Hi guys! First off, I am SO sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out there. I know I keep making false promises of having it out soon and you're probably all tired of the same old BS but it's taken me _forever _just to finish this chapter, honestly I was blocked for weeks and finally finished it last night. Now I'm being distracted by tumblr and youtube...someone should block them while I type this. Actually don't do that I'd die :'} ANYWAY, I'm sorry it's taken so long, but finally, an update.

Few questions ~

1) Anyone giving anything up for lent? I was thinking about chocolate but I'd never last, I eat too much.

2) Anyone watch Make it or Break it? If you do, look out for my one shot soon to be posted there, entitled **Go One More **it's Kaylie centric, details on my profile.

**Review replies ~**

**Godschildtweety: **Thank you! :} x

**CoachMom: **Well this chapter is told in flashbacks and most likely the next one too but maybe for chapter 12 (if I get there before Christmas lololol) will be told through present day and you'll see the reactions and the fall out then. Or maybe at the end of the next chapter, I don't know! Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy this chapter! x

**hey-torch: **I know, college is definitely an issue I'll be pressing on in future chapter(s)! Are they in this fic though? ;) No I'm kidding I honestly don't think I could ever even _consider _writing anything where Naley aren't endgame. Same with Dair. (I'll stop there before I end up typing an essay full of dair feelings and get abused by chair fans, lol). You'll see in future chapters how she deals with everything she's told, but this and the next one are told in flashbacks and primarily focus on how it affected them then. Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy this chapter! xo

**naley12: **Thanks :} Hope you enjoy this chapter! x

_On with the show..._

**Chapter 10**

_3 years ago – June of Sophomore year _

_Nathan – 16; Haley – 16_

The end of sophomore year was rapidly approaching them, with school finishing for the year in around three weeks, everyone, teachers and students, was starting to slow down in their worth ethic and be a tad more laid back. Or at least, most people were.

Haley, ever the smart one who wanted to learn and who loved school, was doing all she could to gain those extra credits. She wanted to give herself the best start to junior year as possible, without stressing about it all in the first week back. She thought it best to be prepared for the workload now then to get to the first week of junior year and be unable to handle the workload. Of course she still found time to spend her Friday afternoons with Nathan as was tradition, especially now they were dating.

Nathan, on the other hand, had no trouble fitting everything into the time he had. His simple answer: he didn't. He did what was required of him and that was all. He wasn't at all like Haley; he never bothered to even consider extra credit work. He wasn't smart enough for that, he only cared for playing on the team, and as long as he maintained a C grade average at least, he was able to do that. Plus Haley was his tutor; there was no way he could slip below a C with her tutoring him.

This particular Friday afternoon they were once again heading to the clearing in the forest, by the river, to spend their afternoon in the sunshine but away from the rest of the town. They knew they had to study for the upcoming tests they had that week, so they agreed on spending an hour studying before they did anything else.

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><p>After a half hour of studying, Nathan was already bored. He knew Haley cared about school, but right now he just wanted them to spend time together away from all the school work she had to do. She was a straight-A student and he had no doubt that she'd maintain that average even without studying. Plus she studied every day as it was, surely she could take one day off and spend time with her boyfriend?<p>

"Hales, give the studying a rest already." He whined, sitting up behind her and innocently planting kisses on her neck.

"Stop it, Nathan." She tried pulling away, but failed. "I'm serious, I need to study."

"No you don't, you're a straight-A student and even if you didn't study you still would be. You're smart, Hales, that doesn't just disappear because you don't study. Plus you can study all you like _after _I drop you home later." He reasoned with her, kissing up her neck and placing a lingering kiss on her cheek.

She closed her book with a sigh and turned around to face him. "Fine, you win. But I swear to God Nathan if I fail these tests…" She threatened.

"I know, I know, you've told me before. You'll withhold all boyfriend privileges until you see fit. But you won't fail; you're too smart for that. Come here." He took her into his arms and laid them down on the blanket they were sat on, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her small frame.

"I'm sorry." She pouted. "I know I'm uptight and no fun but my education is important to me. I'm not talented like you are; I don't have anything to fall back on if I don't have my education. You know how much it means to me that I finish high school and get into Stanford." Haley's dream school had been Stanford University, California, since she was eight years old and went with her parents and oldest sister Vivian for a tour of the campus when Vivian was a senior. She knew that's where she wanted to go, but knew she'd never be able to afford it. She worked harder than anyone in her class because getting a scholarship was more important to her than most others.

"You're not uptight or no fun, you're plenty of fun. Just…worry less about college; at least for now. Come senior year you can fret about college all you want but right now, you're only a sophomore and you don't need to worry yourself just yet. You're my girlfriend, and I love you, and I'd never let you fail." He smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you. But I do want to be more fun." She stated as she sat up, bringing Nathan with her. "What can we do that's fun?"

"Anything where I'm with you is fun to me, other than studying, of course." He smirked.

"I'm serious." She replied, standing up and crossing her arms across her chest. "What can we do for fun?"

"I don't know, Hales."

"Well, what do you usually do for fun? You know like, with the guys, or whatever you used to do with Peyton. You guys had fun once, right?" She smirked with a giggle.

"If we did I don't remember back that far. Peyton and I were nothing like you and I, we were more…physical, less…cuddly, if you know what I mean." He explained as best as he could and hoped he wouldn't hurt her feelings.

"So you had sex for fun, basically." She condensed his explanation to a simple sentence.

"Well, yeah, basically. But I know that's not what we're about. I love you, Hales and I know you're not ready for that. I would never push you to do something you aren't ready for, you know that. Our relationship is so much more than what Peyton and I had. Sure we had fun once but we never really worked together, not the way that you and I do. I love you for everything you are, Hales. I don't think you're no fun. I think you're a smart, talented, beautiful girl who is undoubtedly going to graduate as valedictorian come senior year and Stanford will have no choice but to offer you a scholarship." He smiled, standing up and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you, Nathan. That means a lot to me. But I still want to have more fun. I'm going to explore down here a bit, you coming?" She gestured to the river bank. They never really explored the clearing any further than where they were stood at that moment.

"What, the riverbank? Haley, are you insane?" He questioned, noting the steepness of the bank.

"No, I'm not." She laughed. "Come on, it's just a bit of fun. I'll be fine. I just want to explore a bit."

She ignored his protests as she moved closer and closer to the riverbank. This was a clearing in the forest; it wasn't very public so there were no barriers guarding the river like there was out in public. It didn't stop Haley, though. She cautiously walked along the riverbank, rather than down it. She wasn't a total idiot, walking down it would be a suicide mission. As long as she kept her footing, walking along it shouldn't be a problem.

"Hales, please, come away from there. You're making me nervous." He admitted, moving closer to her, trying to keep them both safe.

"I'm fine, Nathan, see?" She smiled as she continued to walk along the bank.

Her safety was short lived however, as within a matter of seconds; she lost her footing and fell with a blood curdling scream down the riverbank she had purposely avoided walking down, hitting her head on a rock when she got to the bottom.

Nathan was shocked to say the least. Horrified was actually a better word to describe it. He'd just witnessed the love of life do exactly what he was worried she would do. He didn't know what he should do. He was stunned, to say the least, rooted to the spot as if there were some kind of force holding him there. What was he supposed to do? He knew he had to help Haley and the longer he left it the worse off she'd be but he couldn't go down the riverbank to get to her, he'd end up in the same position.

He ran as close to the riverbank as he could get without falling himself and tried to locate Haley. When he found her, she was lying still next to the river, with blood pouring from her head. She'd obviously hit it on a rock or multiple rocks on the way down. Nathan was overwhelmed by it all and he wasn't shamed when he felt himself welling up. That was his girlfriend lying by the river, looked to be unconscious, possibly dead. He didn't know, but he knew he had to do something.

"Hales! Haley, baby. God, Hales please answer me." He shouted down in terror, hoping he'd get a response.

When he didn't get a reply, he realised she was unconscious. He pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket and let out a cry of frustration as he realised he didn't have any signal. He didn't want to leave Haley alone here but he had to if he wanted to help her. He shouted down to her telling her he would be right back, and though he knew she was _definitely _unconscious, he held onto the hope that she could hear what he said and would understand it.

He ran as fast as he could out of the forest, and let out another cry of frustration waiting for the emergency services to pick up.

"911, what's your emergency?" The respondent said, almost too cheerily for the job.

"My…my…my girlfriend, my girlfriend she's um, she…" His voice was thick with emotion as he tried to get his words out, but he stumbled on nearly every word. He'd never been as upset or scared than he was in this very moment. "We were in the forest…she fell…I told her to be careful but she…she lost her footing, she fell…she um, she hit her head, I think. She's unconscious, but I can't get to her."

"Sir, you need to calm down. I need you to tell me your location, so I can send help. Can you do that?"

"Uh-huh. We were in the um, the forest, god, the clearing in the forest on the east side. There's a riverbank, and she um, she fell. I can't…I can't get down there. Please, you have to help me, please come quickly." He didn't even care that he sounded so desperate and emotional at this point, Haley meant more to him than some dumb reputation anyway.

"I know where you mean. The EMTs should be with you shortly. Try to stay calm."

"Thank you." He choked out, hanging up and desperately waiting for the EMTs to arrive.

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><p>When the EMT crew arrived, he frantically led them to the spot he was not ten minutes ago, begging them to help Haley. Of course they did, it was their job, but it didn't stop his panic. He couldn't think of anything but making sure she was okay. When they eventually managed to get her out of the spot she was stuck in, and put her onto a trolley, Nathan was more than thankful.<p>

"Son, I'm sorry but you can't come with us." _What? They thought he was just going to leave her?_

"No, I have to. She's my girlfriend, I love her and I just need to know she'll be okay. I can't just leave her! I care about her too much to do that. Please, just let me stay with her. I promise I won't be any trouble." He was practically begging them to let him ride with them, but he didn't care. He cared about Haley far too much to let them take her without him by her side. "Please." His voice was raw with emotion as the tears he'd just recently got rid of made reappearance.

"Okay, fine, but just sit there, okay?" The EMT sighed. "We don't usually do this."

"Thank you." He was grateful he was allowed to go with her, so he sat where they told him too, and held onto her hand for the entire ride to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Though the ride to the hospital was only 15 minutes, it felt like much longer. Nathan was going out of his mind with worry when they arrived, he didn't know what he should do, where he should go, he didn't know anything. He ran behind them as they wheeled Haley into a room and set to work on making her better, and slid down the wall as soon as he was allowed no further.<p>

He buried his head in his hands and cried for a good ten minutes, hoping somebody would tell him _something. _Nobody did, so he gave up on that idea for a moment. He knew he had to call her parents, but what was he supposed to tell them? He couldn't just tell them outright their daughter was in the hospital because she was walking along a riverbank and she fell.

Though he knew in his heart that it wasn't his fault, he felt extremely guilty about Haley's accident. He should have tried harder to convince her to come away from the edge. He was so much stronger than she was, why didn't he just go over to her, throw her over his shoulder like he had done multiple times before and place her back on the blanket they'd set up for the two of them. Maybe if he'd done that, they'd be making out happily on that blanket right now, rather than in the hospital.

He was broken from his thoughts as a doctor approached him. He silently begged the doctor to tell him something, anything. He needed to know she was going to be okay.

"You were the young man who was with Haley James, correct?" The doctor started.

"Yeah, is she ok? Please, tell me she's ok." He pleaded, as the doctor gestured for him to follow her. He followed her to what looked like her office.

"Can you tell me your name, first of all?"

"It's Nathan."

"Okay, Nathan. I'm Doctor Song; I'll be treating Haley while she's here. You did the right thing calling 911; you kept yourself from a lot of danger and let the professionals get Haley out of danger. Now, I need you to call her parents for me, as she's still a minor we need her parents' permission before we continue with treatment. We've done all we can until they get here. So you need to do that as soon as you can, and tell them to be here as quick as they can, ok?" She explained.

"Yeah, I can do that. Is she going to be okay?" He asked again, his big blue eyes pleading with the doctor.

"She's…well, Nathan, there isn't much I can tell you. She's not of the woods yet, that's all I can say. We need to treat her further but we need her parents here first. I'll leave you alone to call them, and I'll be back in about 20 minutes, ok?"

"Okay. Thank you, Doctor Song." As Doctor Song left the room, Nathan took a deep breath and took his cell phone from his pocket. He scrolled down in his contacts until he reached Haley's house phone, hovering over it, deliberating what to say to her parents.

It took him at least 5 minutes of thinking before he worked up the courage to press the call button.

"Hi, Mr and Mrs James, I'm sorry to call you like this but um, god this is the last thing I wanted…there's been an accident."

**reviews are love!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:**I'm so sorry this has taken so long to get out, I'm studying like crazy for my upcoming 7 exams, yes, 7. But since I've basically been a hermit over these holidays, I figured why not do some writing? So I did, and this is how this came about! I know I'm terrible at regular updates, y'all can tell me that in a review or something lol. I honestly don't know what to do with myself now that OTH is over, it saved my life on so many occasions, and it got me through when times were hard. Now that it's over...I honestly feel like a piece of me has died, or like my heart was ripped from my chest. Sounds cheesy but that's generally how I feel. I'll stop there before I start sobbing again.

**Review replies:**

**Godschildtweety: **Thanks! :)

**DallasMarieJensen: **Sorry it's taken so long, hope you enjoy this chapter!

**naley12: **Thank you! :) I'm glad you're enjoying it. Sorry it's taken so long to get this out.

**hey-torch: **I did indeed, hahaha. I was sick of my old username and this one works better. :) I'm glad you're liking it! :D More flashbacks in this chapter and probably the next one too. I didn't actually plan on it being this long, I originally said I was only going to do about 8-10 chapters, but I just can't stop, so yeah. Hope you enjoy this one! x

**Shout out to othfan1919 my wonderful beta! And to alwaysthemockingjay and ObsessivePrincess, y'all are awesome. Breyinnley:)**

**Chapter 11**

Hours had passed since Nathan had called Haley's parents, and since then he'd been rooted to the same spot, not being able to move. He was desperate for some sort of news on Haley's condition, but nobody could or would give him anything. He was distraught, to say the least. He'd known, somewhere in the back of his mind, he'd known something like this was liable to happen. He'd tried to convince Haley to come away from the edge, but she was just as stubborn as ever.

He knew he shouldn't, but he just felt so _guilty. _He felt like he could have done more, like he could have _stopped _this somehow. He didn't know what he could have done, but he should have done _something. _Maybe if he'd've just got up off his ass and gone over to the bank and got her down from there himself, maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't be here right now. Lord knows he was strong enough to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, so why didn't he?

All of the horrifying thoughts of what could've been continued to swirl around his head, as he buried his face in his hands and freely cried. He hadn't cried at many times in his life, he didn't even remember the last time he had cried, but right now, it felt like the end of his world and he didn't have a clue what to do other than to cry it out.

He hoped that sooner rather than later, someone, he didn't care who, would be able to give him something on Haley's condition. He just had to know something, just something that would give him some sort of hope that she would be ok.

He briefly looked up for a moment, only to see Lucas, Brooke and Peyton entering the hospital with worried expressions etched on their faces. He figured he'd leave the doctors to tell them what happened, especially since he couldn't bear to relive the horrible moment, but apparently they had other plans. When they saw him, they came running towards him, already out of breath from no doubt running in here, and all started struggled to say a word.

"Nate, what happened? Where is she? Is she ok?" Lucas was frantic, desperate to know anything Nathan did. He was practically Haley's brother, it was no shock he was frantic and desperate.

"I don't…I don't know. One minute, we were just hanging out; by the river, a quiet little spot we always go to, and the next she was falling down the riverbank and unconscious. She fell, and I couldn't get to her. I called 911 and rode in the ambulance with them, but nobody will tell me anything. Her parents are here somewhere, but I haven't really spoken to them. I can't face them." He choked out between sobs. "It's my entire fault." His voice cracked with emotion, and came out dry and hoarse.

"No, it's not! Nathan this is not your fault." Brooke tried to comfort him, but to no avail.

"It is! I could've just gone over there and picked her up, and got her out of danger. But I didn't. If I had, we wouldn't be here right now."

"Nathan, Haley needs you right now. So do her parents, and we do too, and you can't believe this is your fault. If there's one thing you believe, believe it isn't your fault, because it's not." Brooke pleaded with him.

"Whatever." He sighed. He'd never stop blaming himself for this horrific turn of events, no matter what anyone said, it couldn't take away the overwhelming sense of guilt inside of him. "Look, I don't know anything. I haven't heard anything in hours, and I'm just so worried about her. I can't…I can't even begin to process the idea of losing her. She's everything to me." The tears continued to stream down his face, and he had no shame in it.

"Oh, Nate, I'm sorry." Brooke sighed and moved closer to him, pulling him into a hug to offer some sort of comfort. He hugged her back and cried onto her shoulder, as she rubbed his back. "She'll be okay. She's a fighter, you know that. We're all going to get through this, I promise."

"I'm not so sure."

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><p>Another few hours passed, and still nothing new on Haley's condition. Nathan was beginning to lose his patience; he just needed to know that his girlfriend, the love of his life, his <em>everything, <em>was going to survive this and that she'd be okay. Lucas, Brooke and Peyton had stayed at the hospital with him and Haley's parents waiting for news on her condition, though their efforts seemed futile as nobody had given them anything.

Eventually though, just as Nathan was about to ask someone what the hell was going on, a doctor came around the corner and seemed to be heading in their direction. All 4 teenagers and Haley's parents sprang to their feet as he approached them, all desperate to hear what he had to say.

"I take it you're all here for Haley James?" He asked, getting frantic nods from each of them in response. "I think it best we step into my office." He motioned for them to follow him as he walked in the direction of his office.

As they all entered the room, Haley's parents took the two chairs in front of the desk, while Nathan, Peyton, Lucas and Brooke stood behind them, all six of them anxiously awaiting the arrival of the doctor. As he entered the room, Nathan spoke up.

"Doc, I don't mean to be rude, but can you just tell us how Haley is? We're all just so worried about her." He begged, way past the point of desperation.

"I'm sorry for the wait, but there were some…complications, with Haley's treatment." He sighed, observing the looks on their faces.

"Complications? What does that mean exactly?" Lydia asked, worried for her daughters health.

"Mr and Mrs James, Haley's injuries were severe. We were trying to stabilize her condition for hours, and she wasn't responding to any sort of treatment. She's been unconscious for a fair few hours, as you know she was in that state before she was brought in. Luckily, she's starting to respond to treatment. She is still unconscious, however, and probably will be for a few more days. The blow to her head was worse than severe, and due to that we'll need to wait until she wakes up to see if there's any lasting damage to her brain. If there's anything I can do, or if you have any questions, please, feel free to ask."

The room was silent for a moment, as the four teenagers and Haley's parents processed what they had just been told. None of them could quite believe it; it was all too surreal for them to believe. Potential brain damage was still just potential, but what if it wasn't just potential? What if she did have some sort of brain damage? Not only would they be devastated, so would she. Haley had worked towards Stanford for as long as anyone could remember, it was her dream. If she was to have that taken from her, what would she do?

"Where is she?" Nathan asked, trying to hide his emotions from the others in the room. He just wanted to see his girlfriend, the love of his life, his best friend, just wanted to see her and –

Well, what could he do?

The damage had been done, and he couldn't protect her from that anymore. He just wanted to take it all away from her, just make her better and take all the pain and the hurt everyone was feeling from them. But he couldn't. Though he'd gladly take Haley's situation and inflict it on himself if it meant she would get to live her life and be better, he couldn't. As much as he tried, or as much as he wanted to do something, there was nothing he could do. Nothing but sit and wait and pray for her recovery.

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><p>And that he did. When the doctor led everyone to Haley's room, and instructed they go in a maximum of two at a time, Nathan let everyone have their time with her, before he asked to be alone with her for a while. Haley's parents agreed to his request, knowing how much Nathan was hurting and knowing he'd need some time to himself to process it all.<p>

He took a deep breath as he opened the door to her room, and walked in hesitantly, before sitting on one of the chairs beside Haley's bed. He tried not to let the sight of the machinery around him, each one carefully monitoring Haley's condition, phase him, but it was all too much. All of this, the machines, the bed, the tubes and the wires, it was all too much.

He pulled the chair closer to her, before taking one of her hands in his own and kissing it gently, before using his other hand to stroke a stray piece of hair across her forehead. He took a deep breath and looked to Haley's closed eyes, before he began speaking.

"Hi, beautiful. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm holding onto the hope that you can, because right now, if I don't have hope, what have I got? I gotta tell you, Hales, I feel like I'm responsible for all of this." He sighed, looking around. "And I know if you could, you'd be berating me for even thinking that, but I have to get it all out. I was more than capable of getting you away from that river bank, I knew it was dangerous but I just let you carry on. I wish I did something more for you, Haley, because now you're in here and unconscious and I have no idea when you're going to wake up, and I feel so terrible. Maybe if I just took it upon myself to get you out of danger instead of just standing back and watching you then you wouldn't be in this situation right now.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Haley, I really wish that I had, and I've never felt worse than I do right now. I don't think there's much that could make me feel worse, unless you never woke up. But that isn't gonna happen, right? You're going to open those beautiful brown eyes and take my breath away, just like you always do. I love you so much, Hales, please, just come back to us. Please, wake up." He all but begged, letting the tears that had once threatened to fall roll freely down his face, even though he was unaware whether she could hear him or not. The doctors had told him that talking to comatose patients sometimes helps to bring them round or to provoke a reaction in their brain to let everyone else know they're still with them. At this point, he'd do anything to get her back. He felt so bad for his 'part' in this, even if it wasn't much of a part, and he just needed to be certain that she'd wake up and she'd be okay, because he wasn't sure he would be okay if she didn't wake up.

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><p>Around a week had passed since Haley's accident, and every day Nathan would sit at her bedside and pray for her recovery, though he felt he was losing the tiniest slither of hope with each passing day. But then, who wouldn't, if put in his position? He knew he had to hold onto the hope as it was all that was left, all that he had, and if he didn't have hope, he'd have nothing, but with each day that passed with no sign of Haley's awakening being any time soon, it felt as though he lost a tiny bit of hope.<p>

And with each day that passed, came another bout of guilt and another wave of regret that he hadn't done something to stop this all from happening. All he could do now was pray that she'd wake up soon, and they could get back to living their lives, and being happy with each other.

She'd graduate high school, valedictorian, of course, and go to Stanford, as was her dream, and major in her chosen subject, get a fantastic job, and be extremely successful. As for Nathan, he'd graduate high school (with Haley's tutoring, of course), and go to Duke to play basketball, as was his dream, and get drafted into the NBA for a big league team.

And best of all? They'd do all of it _together._

Or at least, he hoped they would. He didn't know what he'd do if Haley didn't wake up, and he didn't want to find out, either.

He kept going to school, even if he didn't want to, he knew Haley would want him to. Plus it provided the slightest distraction during the day so he didn't have to think about his comatose girlfriend.

Every day after school, he rushed to the hospital, hoping there'd be some kind of change, and always disappointed when there wasn't. He sat with her late into the night, every night, hoping that she'd know, even if she was unconscious, that he was there, and he hadn't left her side other than for school. Somehow it comforted him knowing that if he was there, she wouldn't be alone, and he hoped it would be comforting for her, too. Plus he didn't want her to wake up alone, and sitting by her bedside everyday lessened the chance of that happening.

* * *

><p>One day, around two weeks after the accident, Nathan arrived at the hospital as usual and took his place by Haley's bedside, filling her in on what she missed at school that day and telling her how much he loved her. His faith was starting to run out, and he started to believe she would never wake up. But, just as he went to leave that night, something happened.<p>

He pressed his lips to her forehead, as he always did just before he left, her eyes started to flutter. As soon as he noticed this, he forgot all about leaving and took her hand in his.

"Hales? Haley if you can hear me, open your eyes or squeeze my hand or something, please."

And sure enough, after a few minutes of pleading with her to open her eyes, she did. Slowly but surely, her eyelids began to flutter and she squeezed her eyes shut before opening them and adjusting to the light flooding her room. Nathan could've cried in relief when he saw her eyes open for the first time in two weeks, but he kept it together so as not to overwhelm her.

"God, Haley, I can't believe it. You're finally awake." He laughed slightly, almost in disbelief. "Just…stay like that, ok? I need to get a doctor." He continued before she had a chance to reply, and dashed out of the room faster than he'd ever run before to get her doctor.

He returned in a minute with her doctor in tow, trying to stay calm for her sake. He didn't want to lose it in front of her, especially since she'd just woken up.

"Haley, it's nice to see you awake." Doctor Song smiled, before picking up the chart on the side of Haley's bed and looking over it. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but, what? I don't…I don't remember what happened. Where am I? How long have I been here? _Why _am I here?" She was starting to hesitate; she couldn't remember a thing about the last two weeks. For all she knew she was just waking up to this new life, with no recollection of what happened.

"Okay then." Doctor Song sighed as she wrote something down on Haley's chart. "Haley, you had a very nasty fall. You've been unconscious for two weeks. You're in the hospital." She explained, noting the confused expression still drawn on her face.

"Oh…um…okay then. Was anyone else hurt?" She asked warily, still not completely understanding her situation.

"No, Haley, just you. You're lucky your boyfriend called 911 when he did, any longer and you probably wouldn't have made it."

"My boyfriend?"

"Haley, you know who I am, right?" Nathan asked, beginning to worry.

"Sure. You're Lucas' brother." She replied, confused. "What are you doing here, anyway? We're not friends."

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><p><strong>thoughts? drop me a review!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:**I'm not entirely sure that anybody but Shay is still reading this and she's my beta so she doesn't count, any who, I have had writers block for the longest time and then I finished this with no internet so yeah apologies etc etc, if you're reading this, great, please leave a review! Sorry I take so long to update, I know I suck.

**Chapter 12**

"_We're not friends." _the words rang through his ears the second they left her mouth. How could she not remember? She must be kidding, right? Of course she knew who he was. They'd been dating for nearly 6 months, how could she just _forget?_

"Hales, _it's me_. It's Nathan." He said slowly, stuttering slightly.

"I know who you are, Nathan. I just asked what you're doing here since I know we're not friends." She explained, her voice dripping with annoyance just like it used to when she was around him.

"Doc, what's going on?" He asks Doctor Song, the panic in his voice now becoming evident.

"Nathan, could you please, just…leave. I don't understand what's going on, but I know I don't want you here." She requests, without a tinge of emotion to her voice.

Nathan tries to reply, but there are no words to express his despair. How could she just _forget? _He was her boyfriend, and she was his girlfriend. They loved each other. How could love be forgotten just like that? Instead of speaking, he simply sighs and shoots her one last look, begging her silently to remember, to think, to think so hard and just remember one thing about their change in relationship, but to no avail. Haley simply looks away and waits for him to leave, and so he does. Unwillingly, but he does.

"Doctor Song, I don't understand. How could she just…forget?" He says to her doctor when she leaves the room after him.

"Nathan, Haley suffered a major blow to the head. We can't be sure how hard she hit her head. It's not uncommon in patients who suffer trauma to the head to suffer amnesia of some form." She tries to explain to Nathan, but trying to explain why his girlfriend didn't recognise him to a 15 year old is easier said than done.

"Amnesia? So she doesn't know who I am? She doesn't know anything? Well, how bad is it?"

"We can't be sure of that yet, not until we've run some tests. She seems to have some recollection of her life and her memories, but for some reason, has no recollection of you or what happened to her. Can you get in contact with her parents; let them know that she's awake? We need to run some more tests and I think it best they be here." She asked.

"Um…yeah, sure. She is going to be okay though, right? She'll remember me?" He questioned in reply.

"Nathan, I honestly couldn't tell you. It differs from patient to patient. Some remember within days, weeks, months or years, and for some years go by and they never remember a thing. Like I said before, we can't be sure how serious her case of amnesia is until we run some tests."

"Thanks anyway, doc." He sighed as he walked away to call her parents.

* * *

><p>Hours later, well into the evening, Nathan still sat in the hospital waiting on the results of Haley's tests. He hadn't seen her since he walked out of her room this afternoon, and as much as he wanted too, he didn't think he could face going in there again. At least not right now. He was still trying to process the idea of his girlfriend forgetting him because she had amnesia, but as much as he couldn't bring himself to go into her room again, he couldn't bring himself to leave, either.<p>

And he was glad he hadn't left when the doctor approached Haley's parents and himself to deliver the all-important test results they'd been waiting for. He asked the three of them to join him in his office, so they did just that. Nathan allowed Jimmy and Lydia to sit down while he stood behind them, anxiously waiting on the news about to be given to them.

"Mr and Mrs James, as you well know, we ran some tests and the results have just been given to me. It seems that your daughter has a case of amnesia, and from what these tests have shown, it seems that some of her memory is still intact, but she cannot remember what happened and she doesn't seem to remember anything about the last year or so of her life. And Nathan, as you discovered, that includes the memory of your relationship. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but it doesn't look like she's going to regain those memories. It varies from patient to patient, but in Haley, I can say I'm about 90% sure that she'll never regain her memory.

"Obviously it will be up to you what you decide to, but we always tell families of amnesia patients not to overwhelm them. If you decide you want her to know what happened to her and want her to remember her life as it was, then that's your decision, but make sure you do it slowly and in pieces. Don't force it on her, either, if possible try to get her to remember on her own. That's the best way to recovery. But if you choose not to tell her, that's entirely up to you. But if that's the option you choose, try to be careful what you say around her and try not to conflict her current memories. Obviously I don't expect you to decide right this second, it's a big decision, but I do have to hurry you in making a decision. Haley won't wait forever, I'm afraid, and if you begin to tell her one thing and conflict it with another while her mind is still trying to process what she knows, it could hurt her."

"Wow, well, um, thank you, Doctor Song. You've been very kind and patient with us and I appreciate everything you're doing for our daughter." Jimmy speaks first, breaking the silent tension in the room.

"Not a problem, Mr James. I'll leave you to it; obviously this is a big decision for you. As I said, there is no rush as such, but rather a quickened pace needs to be involved with your decision making. If you need anything, feel free to ask." She says as she leaves the room with a curt nod.

The room was left in a silent tension for a moment, before Lydia spoke first.

"I don't think we should tell her." It was with those seven words that Nathan's heart sank. His face fell, and this was not unnoticed by Lydia. "Nathan, I know this hurts you, but hear me out, please. Doctor Song said not to overwhelm her, and if we tell her of this whole life that she doesn't know of, of course it's going to overwhelm her. And like Doctor Song said, if we conflict her mind with things she doesn't remember, it's going to hurt her. I can't hurt our daughter, Nathan. I'm sorry, I just can't. I won't ever deny you to chance to see my daughter or try to get her to like you just as she did before, but I won't let her get hurt because we tried to remind her who she was. I need her to figure that out on her own. I'm sorry." Her eyes glassed over as she explained her thoughts to the 15 year old. Nathan was like one of her own, he spent a lot of time at the house with Haley while they were dating and often accompanied them to dinners. It was clear to see how much he loved Haley, and she felt awful for telling him they wouldn't tell her what she had with Nathan, but she wouldn't run the risk of hurting her daughter. She couldn't.

Nathan was speechless, he wanted to say he understood, that it was okay and that he'd get over it, but those would all be lies. He couldn't even bring himself to speak a lie, as his eyes filled with unshed tears and he realised he'd probably never get to kiss Haley again, never get to hold her in his arms, never get to stroke her hair and tell her that everything would be okay in the end. It was the little things he would miss the most. He heard Lydia calling after him faintly in the distance as he left the room and sprinted from the building as fast as he could. He couldn't stand to be around it one more minute, especially not if he wasn't going to get to see Haley.

* * *

><p>He stayed at home in his room for the rest of the weekend. He went down for food occasionally, but only occasionally. His parents told him to get a grip, that she was just a girl, that he could have another one in his bed in an hour if he wanted to, but they didn't understand, of course they didn't. They never supported his relationship with Haley. When his phone rang, he didn't answer. If somebody knocked on the door, if his parents were home they'd deal with it, if he was alone, whoever it was got ignored.<p>

He didn't see anybody all weekend, and when it came to school, he couldn't bring himself to go. His parents didn't care, his father only cared for basketball and his mother was too high in her drug stupor to realise he was skipping school. He was heartbroken, and nobody but Brooke, Lucas and Peyton knew what had happened. But even they didn't know about the amnesia and they didn't know his relationship was essentially over. He assumed they'd be over later that night, demanding to know why he wasn't in school. What was the point in school now? Haley was his tutor, she managed to keep his grades average, and she wasn't going to tutor him anymore. He'd probably flunk his classes and be forced to quit the team.

Basketball didn't seem to matter as much now, almost as if everything he thought he once cared about didn't matter anymore. He supposed that had a lot to do with Haley. She inspired him to continue every day, and without her encouragement, he didn't care for anything. He spent his days much like his mother; drinking any and all alcohol he could get his hands on. He didn't take any notice of the fact he had tests coming up this week, he didn't care. He just wanted to wallow in his own self-pity and heartbreak.

* * *

><p>And that he did, all week in fact. He missed his tests, but he didn't care. He didn't know whether Haley had gone back to school, he assumed they would give her medical leave for the week and she'd complete make up tests after summer ended, much like he would have to. But knowing all he knew about Haley, he knew she'd want to get back to school as quickly as possible. Whether her parents would allow her to, or whether she was even well enough to go back yet was unclear, but whatever she did, she'd be better off than him.<p>

Lucas, Brooke and Peyton all came by, they tried with all their might to get him to sober up and to shower, or to do anything but drink, but to no avail. This was his heartbreak and his pain, and he would wallow in it for as long as he liked. At this point, he had no thoughts of getting Haley back; he figured she'd never go for him again. It was nearly impossible to get her to like him the first time; he assumed the second time would be non-existent.


End file.
